Unconditionally
by chocolatecheesecakes
Summary: There's one more burn mark on the family tree of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. If the burn mark had never appeared, then maybe the world would have been a much better place. Maybe less people would die. And maybe, just maybe, there would be a happy ending. If not for Selene, then for the Wizarding World. [ON HIATUS]
1. Prologue: My Name Is Selene

**HI! This is my first update; enjoy guys!**

**Disclaimer: I never will own Harry Potter. *sobs***

**Updated as of 12th**** August 2014.**

* * *

"I want to be a comma, not a full stop." - Every Teardrop's A Waterfall by Coldplay

* * *

Prologue: My Name Is Selene

My name is Selene.

My surname doesn't matter, not at the moment anyway. If I told you, your smile would turn into a frown and you'd be gone before I could even mention my actual opinions and values. They way people look at me in the street, equal measures of reverence and disgust; it has made me someone I'm not altogether proud with. I have friends, sure, but love has always avoided me.

I see loving families almost every day, and the way the parents smile at their kids almost breaks my heart. Because I can never have that. Not when your parents are too wrapped up in themselves to see how much they hurt their kids. As sad as it is, that is my life.

Wake up. Eat a low-calorie breakfast, as after all Pure-blood women must be stuck thin. Go to the library. Stay there until lunch. If I'm lucky, my father might give me the opportunity to leave the house. If not, homework. Then maybe write to the friends my parents allow me to contact over the summers. Sleep.

I could live with it, if the same treatment wasn't extended to my brother. There is a degree of responsibility with younger sibling, and I would take the weight of the world for my brother. We are like chalk and cheese, he's snarky and I'm shy, but that doesn't mean I love him any less.

Love is not something I expect. My friends continue to surprise me with it however. Their parents are so reluctant to begin with, but they don't say out loud. If I wasn't so good at reading their eyes, then I wouldn't know. And they warm up, and now many of them seem more like family to me than my own parents ever have.

Right now, I am sitting on my bed, my four-poster bed, in my massive bedroom in my massive house. Again, it doesn't matter where; if you're like me then you have already pieced two and two together and are now in the process of tearing this to shreds. If you're not like me, then I must apologise for the obscene amount of references I have undoubtedly made to things you will not understand. Sorry.

But, as I have said, that doesn't matter to me. If I made myself feel worse over everyone who hates me, then I'd go mad. It's best to stick to the things that make me look ahead, my brother and my schoolwork.

But something feels like change. The electric feel of the atmosphere I am sitting in, the humid tones of the air, it all hints to something I can't quite place my finger on. Every time I try to name it, it slips through my fingers.

Again, it's best if I ignore it.

So, I do.

That was my first mistake.


	2. Chapter 1: First Glimpse

**Edited on 7th January 2015.**

* * *

Part 1: Amazingly

* * *

"It's been a bad day, please don't take a picture." - Bad Day by R.E.M.

* * *

First Glimpse  
  
"Straight up Arthur, two rights, two lefts and another right. As far as you can go. Great view from there, I'm told." The witch at the entrance to the Quidditch stands said, making hand gestures to illustrate the fact.

"Thank you Gladys. Come on, we'd better get going." Mr Weasley beckoned the group up the stairs.

Among the groups of people flooding up the staircase were the Weasley's and co. Led by Mr Weasley, a tall, balding man in his late forties, behind was Bill, the eldest of the people that followed, a guy with long red hair in a ponytail and a fang earring, that he'd magically dyed green for the occasion. Next was Percy, a pompous person sporting an Irish scarf and taking the opportunity to scold the girl behind him. Lily Tonks, one of the family friends was rolling her eyes at Percy's ministrations and resisting the urge to stab him with her Irish rosette. Harry Potter was next, trying not to fall over or into laughter, torn between focusing on Lily and Percy's argument and focusing on being sensible. Ron and Hermione Granger followed Harry, Hermione trying to calm Lily down with some of the shamrock cookies she'd bought, and Ron placing bets with the two identical kids behind them on who'd die first, Lily or Hermione. Fred and George were virtually identical; they'd yet to find a person able to tell them apart. Charlie was last, a scarred bloke with a warm smile and a furious temper if provoked. He'd been placed at the back to keep tabs on the prankster twins.

"Are we nearly there yet?" Lily called out jovially, attempting to deter Percy from whatever god-awful topic he was barking at her about now. She never paid attention to the third eldest Weasley, although the first two earned her respect early on in her life.

"We are Lily. Come on you lot, we're here!" Mr Weasley puffed, showing them a collection of wooden benches and seats at the very top of the stands. "Prime seats, these are!"

"How ever did you get them Weasley? Did you sell your house?" Lucius Malfoy sneered, entering the top box behind the Weasley's. "Not that it'd fetch enough, but anyway. Ah! Minister!"

Mr Weasley mumbled something under his breath that only the twins and Lily caught, while Lucius Malfoy rushed to shake the Minister's hand.

"Lovely to see you Lucius, as always. Is this your wife?" Fudge greeted jovially, glancing behind Lucius. "Ah, yes, of course she is. Lovely to see you too Narcissa."

The group turned around again to see a tall, beautiful woman with white-blonde hair enter the Box, followed by Draco Malfoy, both wearing black. Malfoy scowled at seeing the Weasleys, but didn't comment.

"This is Draco." Lucius said, placing a hand on Malfoy's shoulder. "And... Ah, I'm sorry, my daughter..."

"Sorry Father." Someone else appeared in the box, a girl with long brown hair obscuring the left half of her face, the rest held back from her face entirely.

"Yes." Lucius said curtly. "My daughter."

Lily rolled her eyes and perched on the edge of a seat. "Get a bloody grip guys, we can kick their arses later." She drawled, putting her legs up on the seat in front of hers. "Did anyone bring the popcorn? I bet six Sickles that Lucius will die first."

"Ten." One of the twins immediately responded. "But on Dad killing him."

* * *

Draco groaned at having to stay in the same vicinity as a Blood Traitor family and flopped down in a seat, slouching as he did so. "Salazar almighty, those people. That nerve. Speaking to a Malfoy like that." He whined to his sister, who shot him a sharp glance.

Selene looked up from where she was studying the programme, which contained details of all the players from both Ireland and Bulgaria. "They... Can't be that bad?" She said hesitantly.

"I'm going to ignore that." Draco groaned again, rolling his grey eyes. "And I thought you couldn't get wimpier."

Selene went pink, and quickly looked back down at her programme. She knew people were watching her intently, she could feel the gazes glaring into her skull, but she kept her head down and her mind occupied.

She only looked up again when Ludo Bagman introduced the players, and watched intently as the mascots flew out onto the pitch.

As soon as the Leprechauns dropped their gold, Draco eagerly went to grab some. Narcissa looked almost indifferent, with her nose scrunched up (a tall boy with red hair was sitting right in front of her). Selene looked back down at the programme again, wishing that she was anywhere but where she was.

But the fact remained that she was were she didn't want to be.

"Isn't she in your year?" Selene heard one of the Weasley boys whisper, as the game began.

Immediately, she cowered back into herself and closed her eyes. She barely knew anyone outside of Cho and Marietta. And...

Now was not the time to change that.


	3. Chapter 2: Riches to Rags

**Edited as of 4th April 2015**

"_Little by little, I gave you everything you ever dreamed of." - Little by Little by Oasis_

Chapter 2: Riches to Rags

The general atmosphere in the "Weezly" tents that night could only be described as euphoric. Fred and George led the rest in a high-spirited Irish jig, and Hermione stooped as low as to turn a blind eye when Mr Weasley used magic to light the fire.

Harry replayed the best parts of the match over and over again, using his Omnioculars. He was especially intrigued by Viktor Krum's Wronski Feint, and tried to imagine how he could play that move himself.

"No, no!" It was Mr Weasley that broke the partying in the end, clapping his hands. "You all need to be in bed, do you hear me?"

"Way to crush a dream," Lily grumbled, but she still followed Hermione and Ginny into the girl's tent, bidding goodbye to the guys.

Fred and George attempted to sneak over to where the large parties were occurring, but Mr Weasley was far too used to their antics.

"No, boys," he insisted, waiting until the Twins had gone into the tent. "Molly would have my guts for garters if I let you two sneak off... Keep an eye on them Percy, would you?"

Proud to be given such an important task - in his own eyes at the very least - Percy puffed out his chest. "Of course father!" he exclaimed, strutting into the tent with the aura of a peacock.

"Come on," Ron said, a little wistfully as he looked over towards the large dancing shamrocks on the Irish tents. "We'd better go in."

Harry was hoping that it wouldn't smell of cats, but it did. Ron placed his Viktor Krum figurine on his bedside table, gesturing for Harry to take the top bunk.

Mr Weasley stood by his word to send them all of to sleep earlier than they might have preferred, and only paused to check that, yes the twins were still there, before the lights clicked off.

oOo

Harry was awoken later by muffled sounds, almost completely obscured by the walls of the tent.

"What's going on?" he asked Charlie, who was poking his head out of the tent flaps.

"Not sure," Charlie admitted, scratching his head. "Dad went out to check about a minute ago."

Stretching out a hand, Harry scrambled for his glasses, shoving them onto his face as fast he could as Charlie spun out of the way, to let a frantic Mr Weasley in.

"Get up, now!" he barked, eyes wide. "All of you, we can't stay here-"

There was a loud bang and a scream, and Harry sat bolt upright.

oOo

Selene skirted a peacock, grabbing Draco's arm as they dodged out of the way.

"What the heck is going on?" Draco asked, yanking his arm out of his sister's grip as soon as he could. "Father said nothing like this... Was due to happen."

"He wouldn't have told you," Selene reasoned, trying to steady her breathing. "Draco, just stay here."

In a flash, Draco understood what his sister was going to do. "No!" he yelled, above the screaming. "Selene, stay here, like mother said."

Selene inhaled, took one look over at the other side of the campsite, and retched. She only just managed to reach the bushes before she vomited.

"I'm okay," she said, before Draco could ask after her well being. "I'm just a bit jumpy."

"If you're sure," her brother answered, tugging her back to the back of the tent. "We're staying here, like mother said."

"Change of plan," Selene said quickly, not dating to look up. She felt for her wand, and grasped it. "We're staying here anyway."

Draco shook his head, also reaching for his wand. "As long as you're not going to try and stop father, I have no problem with that."


	4. Chapter 3: Lying to Live

**Edited on 8th April 2015.**

_"Oh memories where'd you go, y__ou were all I've ever known." Memories by Panic! At The Disco  
_

Chapter 3: Lying to Live  


"Oh, for god's sake guys, get a shift on!" Lily screeched, hauling her trolley around a cleaning cone. Her owl flapped his wings a little and made an annoyed sound at his owner. "Oh, look! You made Hades angry! Now he'll want Chocolate Frogs!"

"Calm down, calm down crazy vampire chick," George or Fred said, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. "You will be back among your own soon."

"It's easy for you to say, you don't have a schizophrenic bird to keep an eye on," sighed Lily, hitting one of the twins in the shin.

The affected twin pulled a face, but any attempts at his retribution were cut off as he spotted a familiar blonde boy walking his way.

"No, we aren't waiting for Cho," he was saying, determinedly not looking anywhere near any Muggles, as if they might corrupt him. "Straight to the Platform-"

The girl on his left laughed, glancing over to where a large diesel train was pulling into Platform Nine. "You can't tell me you're not even a little bit interested," she teased, with a grin. "Just a little?"

"By Salazar, must I always mind you?" the boy sniggered, ignoring the girl's fascination with the Muggle trains. "You're supposed to be the older one..."

"Shut up Drakkie," the girl glared somewhat playfully at her brother. She glanced across to where the Weasley family (plus Harry, Hermione and Lily) were stationed, both waiting for Mr Weasley- he had become entranced by a ticket barrier - and, in the case of the Twins and Lily, watching Draco and his sister with suspicion. The girl's eyes widened slightly, and her gaze changed rather quickly to the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10.

"Ready to go yet?" Draco said, blissfully ignorant of their audience. "Or are you going to try and chat up a Muggle?"

Selene shot Draco a stern look, and shook her head cautiously, worried in case that her parents were watching them somehow, as they inevitably were, even though they had officially left the two of them alone fifteen minutes ago.

"You know you shouldn't talk about those things," she said carefully, under her breath. "Just in case."

Luckily, Draco nodded without a second thought. He extended his arm to Selene, and she took it, pushing both her trolley and Draco's in front of them as they ran through the barrier, and disappeared.

One of the twins exhaled a breath that he hadn't been aware of holding, and Lily raised a slender eyebrow, staring at the spot where Draco and his sister had disappeared. "So," she said, a hint of mystery in her tone. "There goes my dearest cousin and his enigma of a sister."

"He's your cousin?" George asked curiously, turning to Lily in curiosity. The Weasleys had known the Tonks family since the First Wizarding War, and this had never come up before. It was an unspoken rule to never question Mrs Tonks about her family, and it was a rule even the twins stuck to, because it just didn't interest them. However, this little titbit of information was fascinating - they could see nothing of firebrand Lily in ice-King Draco.

"There's no family resemblance," Lily grumbled, crossing her arms.

The twins waited for a little longer, before they walked up to Lily and flanked her on either side. "So," Fred asked. "Tell us then, how are you and the Ferret related?"

Lily rolled her eyes, and uncrossed her arms. "His mother is my mothers sister," she said quickly, and without flamboyance. "Is that enough for you? Or do you need more?"

No one pissed off Nymphadora or Liliana Tonks, and so the twins backed away, detecting the familiar warning note in Lily's voice. Mr Weasley turned up at that moment, just in time to prevent heads from flying, his arms covered in Muggle paper, printed with tiny black letters. Mrs Weasley followed her husband, checking her watch every ten seconds and hurridly sheparding her charges onto the Platform in pairs.

"Arthur, you go with Ginny," she said, pushing her husband away from the diesel train and towards the barrier, passing her daughter's trolley to him with her other hand. "Then Fred, George- _look for your father straight away on the other side! _Then Harry and Ron can go, then Hermione and Lily..."

"You'll never guess who we saw," Lily said to Harry, who was within earshot. She waited until she had fully gathered the oyunger boy's attention, before giving him one of her infamous, slightly creepy smiles.

"Who?" Harry asked, curious despite the smile.

"Draco _Malfoy_," Lily smirked, as Harry looked decidedly annoyed.

oOo

"'Lene!" Cho grinned, running over to her friend the second she saw her. "You're late!"

Selene checked her watch and laughed, shaking her head. "So," she began, pulling her trunk off the trolley and moving her owl off the top. "Fifteen minutes before is late now?"

"You said you'd be here _at least _thirty minutes before, in your letter!" Cho complained, grabbing the other side of Selene's trunk and helping her friend shift it onto the train. "I should know better than to trust you, you liar!"

"Mother wanted to make sure we were okay," Selene explained, summarising the fifteen minute hugging session that her mother insisted upon (not that Selene was complaining) in as little words as she could. "And I had to make sure that Draco had everything as well."

Cho just rolled her eyes, gesturing to the trunk - now lying right in the middle of the corridor - and looking meaningfully at her friend. "We might need to shift this," she said, raising one eyebrow.

"Allow me, ladies," Roger Davies cut in, giving Selene and Cho a winning smile and pulling himself up onto the train in front of them, picking up the trunk in one fell swoop and moving it into a carriage that Cho had already claimed with her Muggle puzzle books.

Roger was a Chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team, along with Selene (who had _somehow _inherited her father's talent for Quidditch, despite her fear of heights), and fancied himself quite the playboy. The problem with this was that his enormous ego was well-earned, as he had dated half the Ravenclaw girls - and had kissed Selene, back when she was in Third Year and him in Fourth. Even now, he still did occasional favours for Selene, for reasons she didn't quite understand but accepted all the same.

"Thanks Roger," Cho called, grinning sideways at Selene. She never lost an oppertunity to play the field either. "So, what did you do over the summer?"

Selene had no interest in what Roger Davies had done over the summer, so she turned away, looking back onto the Platform, picking out individuals with her eyes and recognising them. Vincent Crabbe was being kissed goodbye by his mother, while her brother was talking to Theodore Nott - a deeply unpleasant individual with a perchanse for nasty Curses.

They all looked so... So _happy. _None of them were plastic, or transparent, or just robots pretending to care. Her stomach squirmed uncomfortably.

Normally her parents would be here, on the Platform as well, but her mother was attending an important meeting in Berlin, and her father most likely had to meet with the Minister. Selene shivered at the thought - not only did Fudge give her the creeps, but after the World Cup she didn't even want to imagine what lies her father was feeding him.

"Come on!" Cho called, startling Selene out of her daydream. "I have some Chinese fortune tellers I want to try on you!"

So, Selene turned away from the families kissing their children goodbye, the families that made the feeling stir in her stomach, and towards the Hogwarts Express, smiling quickly at Cho to disguise her earlier expression. It wasn't wholely fictional, her smile. Going to Hogwarts again always made her smile. But there was a hint of metal in it, a hint of sadness as Selene climbed onto the train, trying not to wish for a mother that cared enough to see her child off, and a father that didn't lie to live.


	5. Chapter 4: The Triwizard Tournament?

**Edited on 9th April 2015**

_"Some will win, some will lose." Don't Stop Believing by Journey_

Chapter 4: The Triwizard Tournament 

It was pouring down outside, and Cho - like normal - had grabbed the only protection Selene had from the rain, a book. Selene would have run, if it hadn't been for her extraordinary lack of coordination. Instead she had to jog, while using the cover of various trees when she could, a combination that soaked her through in seconds.

When Selene finally made it to Hogwarts, she slipped over on a large puddle, falling backwards into a group of Third Years, creating a kind of domino effect that would have had the entire of the Entrance Hall over if it wasn't for Professor McGonagall's swift intervention.

"I shouldn't expect any less from you, Miss Malfoy," she said, pursing her lips together as she glanced upwards to the ceiling of the Entrance, waiting for Selene to stand up before continuing. "But, after all, it is the first day, so I won't take points from you... After all, it wasn't your fault."

"Already wet, aren't they?" Peeves appeared, grinning down at the Entrance Hall and throwing a water balloon at a few Second Years. "Little squirts!"

Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes. "Miss Chang, Miss Malfoy," she continued. "Please continue into the Great Hall, the less mess in here the better, I think- No, Peeves!"

The Transfiguaration teacher rushed over to prevent a few Fourth Years from being bombed, and Cho grabbed Selene's arm, towing them out of the Entrance Hall before Selene could cause any further accidents. When they were out of the way, Selene pulled out her wand and cast a Drying Charm, getting the water out of everything but their hair. Cho groaned, predicatably, as she was rather attached to her hair.

"It's going to be this frizzy all week," she predicted glumly, glancing over to her friend, and stifling a smile. "Um... Selene?"

"What?" Selene asked, casting another Drying Charm on her book, taking a sniff of it when Cho was looking away. "I got the water out of our robes, didn't I?"

Cho snorted, holding out a strand of Selene's hair for inspection. "You look like you've just been through a bush," she said, with a smirk. "Your hair is-" Cho drew an imaginary afro around her head, puffing out her cheeks. "-mad."

"I have no one to impress, unlike you," Selene pointed out, leading the way into the Great Hall, ignoring Cho's almost morbid fascination with her hair. "Thanks for the book, by the way."

"No problem," Cho grinned, as they took their normal seats on the Ravenclaw table. Marietta shifted up from a couple of seats down, shrieking when she saw Selene, although she quickly stifled it with a hand over her mouth.

"What happened?" she asked, aghast.

"A gigantic frog," Selene said dryly, fishing for a hairtie in her robe pocket, peeling her hair off her face and gathering it back. "How were your holidays?"

Cho and Marietta were two halves of the girliest girls in the entirety of Hogwarts, their obsession with makeup and clothes and hair making Selene an outsider in their group. But, when Selene had joined Hogwarts, Cho must have seen something in the awkward, gangly girl, because she was accepted quickly and easily. Of course, Selene was happy to keep in the shadows whilst Cho shone, which must have accounted for why Selene had survived for so long.

"I can do something about this," Marietta said quickly, pulling out a small bottle, seemingly out of nowhere. Cho leaned forward in anticipation. "Magical Anti-Frizz. My mum got it from Italy."

Cho quickly grabbed the bottle, turning it over in her hands a couple of times. Then she nodded, and handed it back to Marietta. Selene pulled out the book again, found her marked page, and began to read.

This was how it always had been, and how it always would be.

When the First-Years began to flood in, Selene finally looked up, making a mental note of the page she had managed to reach, before she pocketed the book and watched all of them, trying to pick out the prospective Ravenclaws.

oOo

"A good crop this year," Cho remarked, over her lemon tart. "Do you reckon we'll be able to pull the House Cup this time around?"

Selene shrugged, half-absorbed in her book again. She would read anywhere, just about. The dinner table, under the desk in classes (although she had attempted to get rid of that habit), curled up in the comfy armchair in the corner of Ravenclaw Tower...

"Give me that!" Marietta wrestled the book out of Selene's grasp. "I thought you said that you were going to stop reading at mealtimes?"

Selene responded by sighing, taking the book back, and reluctantly pocketing it. "Okay, what are we talking about?" she asked.

"You could at least pay a little attention," Cho said, just as the plates vanished, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet.

"So!" Dumbledore said, beaming around at them. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices."

Selene silently crossed her legs over, resting her head on her hands and looking over at the Headmaster.

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs..."

Selene barely paid any attention, focusing instead on watching the Professors, wondering vaguely what they did on their holidays - Professor McGonagall was still looking rather rattled after the incident in the Entrance Hall.

"...the inter-house Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"What?" Roger Davies called out, a sound echoed by most members of all four Quidditch Teams. Selene had guessed this outcome, but she still allowed herself a little huff of annoyance.

She knew of the Tournament, naturally as her father was so highly regarded in the Ministry. She was not completely aware of the rules, or indeed the reason why it had been stopped, but Selene had plans to find the copy of Hogwarts - A History that lay in the library, the first free moment she had to herself.

There was a deafening rumble of thunder, and Selene jumped, and she would have fallen backwards yet again if it hadn't been for Cho's swift intervention. The doors of the Great Hall banged open, and the room turned as one towards the latecomer.

A man stood in the doorway - a man that made Selene's stomach lurch unpleasantly. She knew who he was, alright, and by the looks of things most people did as well. Cho stifled a gasp as the man pulled his hood off his face, and Marietta clutched the table for support.

As the man began to limp towards Dumbledore, his right leg clunking every time it hit the flagstones, there was a flash of lightning that threw the man's facial features into illumination. As he passed Selene, his normal, dark eye flickered to her for a meaningful second, before snapping to the front again. His larger eye rolled around as he moved past, exposing white rather than electric blue, and Selene could tell that he was staring at her.

The ex-Auror Alastor Moody reached Professor Dumbledore and stretched out a scarred hand. Then he stomped over to the empty seat, shaking out his mane of dark grey hair and pulling a plate of sausages towards him.

"Is that who I think it is?" Cho asked breathlessly, her brown eyes as round as saucers.

Selene only nodded, concentrating fully on keeping from vomiting, quite inexplicably.

"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore said brightly, into the silence. "Professor Moody."

Selene brought her hands together to clap, but quickly changed her mind when Moody's blue eye whirled to the side, resting on her for a measured moment.

Why did he keep staring at her?

"Now- as I was saying," Dumbledore continued, and everyone's gazes snapped to him once again. "Hogwarts has the honour of hosting a very special event this year, one that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" someone said loudly, and the tension in the room suddenly broke. Selene laughed shaking her head as she teased the corner of her book out of her pocket before Marietta slapped her hand away.

"I am not joking, Mr Weasley," Dumbledore chuckled. "Although, now you mention it, I did hear and excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag and a leprechaun who all go into a bar-"

"That's impossible," Cho cut in, as McGonagall cleared her throat to cut Dumbledore off. "Hags and Trolls are notoriously elusive, and Leprechauns have been banned from all Wizard-built buildings since the 1400's."

"I know- didn't the Leprechauns at the World Cup have to get special permission?" Selene asked, her attention wandering.

"The Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore began. "Was first established some seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry - Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the Tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young wizards and witches of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the Tournament was discontinued."

Selene shuddered, wishing a little that the Wizarding World could come up with something a little safer for once, like a nice chess game. She had been in Hogwarts's Chess Club since her fourth year, and had improved tremendously.

"I'm not going to enter," Cho said, in a low voice. "No system is fool-proof." she added, as Dumbledore assured them that no champion would find themselves in mortal danger.

Not even the mention of the glory (the prize money meant nothing to Selene, as she came from a family that could bathe in a thousand Galleons if they wished) could persuade Selene to enter. She was happy being under the radar, keeping herself to herself.

But her brother was sure to want to enter. Glory appealed to his very nature, and if he had a chance of getting in he would definitely try.

She was trying to disguise her excitement at seeing her friends from Beauxbatons again, but her smile kept cracking through her façade. It had been years since she had seen them face to face, and her last letter had been dated late July.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," Dumbledore was saying, and Selene raised an eyebrow. "The Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years of age or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration."

"Thank goodness," Selene exhaled, thinking of her brother. She glanced over to where Draco was sitting, just to check on him, and smiled fondly as she saw him, obviously complaining to Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

"You weren't thinking of _entering_, were you?" Cho asked, smirking at Selene's annoyed expression.

Selene just shook her head, turning back to Professor Dumbledore in time to hear the latter half of his next speech, making a mental note to write to Fleur as soon as she could and tell her.

"And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"


	6. Chapter 5: The Mad Eye

**Hello, fellow humans! I come in peace! I mean you no harm!**

**Seriously though, where are all the reviews? Did they die at the hands of Shakespeare? Where art thou reviews? I totally understand if it's a little boring, but it has to crawl there, it can't jump. You must write your vegetables before you can write the dessert. So I promise you, it will be worth the wait. And if my writing ideas are any indication, it won't be much longer at all. So REVIEW! And maybe I shall post a funny little one-shot as your reward for being loyal and Hufflepuff-esque…**

**And for the Guest who reviewed last chapter, I give you my unavowing loyalty that there will be a birthday one-shot for a character in the next few days… **

**This chapter is where it all starts to begin…**

**Edited on 6th April 2015**

_"I gotta let you know, you're never gonna be alone." - Never Gonna Be Alone by Nickelback_

Chapter 5: The Mad Eye

Thankfully, the storm had blown out by the following morning, and a façade of calm had settled over the students as they examined their various timetables, groaning over the boring and slightly odd assortment of subjects they had.

"What do you have first?" Cho asked, peering over Selene's shoulder to get a better look at her timetable. "Actually..."

"We have exactly the same timetable?" Selene guessed, comparing hers to Cho's quickly, and nodding. "All apart from Ancient Runes, at least."

"I was never any good at Ancient Runes..." Cho said sadly.

oOo

Selene tapped her pen on the desk, absent-mindedly humming a song that had been stuck in her head for a few days. Cho pulled a face from next to her, slamming Selene's open textbook shut on Selene's hand.

The sixth year Defence Against the Dark Arts class were made up of only the students that had managed to get E grades or above at O.W.L level - and due to the teaching methods that Professor Lupin used, the class was large. However, like always, the majority of the students were Ravenclaws. Ravenclaws generally studied the hardest, so they got the best grades, and so on and so forth until they made up the majority of most N.E.W.T classes.

The exception to this rule was of course Potions, as Snape favoured and always would favour his Slytherin students.

"No humming!" Cho muttered, as Selene winced and withdrew her hand. "Do you _want _to drive me around the bend?"

"No," Selene said quietly, pushing her hair off her face to create a distraction from the pain in her hand. "Just... Okay, no humming then."

"Good morning class."

Selene jumped, looking upwards and seeing the face of their new Professor, staring right around at the class, his mad eye spinning in its socket. She didn't dare look around, but out of the corner of her eye she could see one of the Slytherins looking just as startled as she felt. Professor Moody nodded, stumping up to the chalkboard and scrawling '_NEWT Level Defence' _onto it.

"I am here to teach you how to handle Dark Curses, how to put Non-Verbal spells into practice, and how to survive attacks from deadly dark creatures," Professor Moody continued. "If you're not prepared to behave yourself then you will find yourself OUT!"

No one spoke. Moody waited for a matter of seconds before continuing his speech. "First things first, you need to get to know each other- one wrong foot and you're OUT Ogden!" he added, as the Slytherin looked, aghast, at the band of Gryffindors.

"He hasn't taught before has he?" Cho said, in an undertone, just as Moody stomped towards his register. Selene only nodded, too scared to speak.

Professor Moody took up his register and began to quickly pair people together. "Miss Chang? You'll be next to Mr Jordan. Mr Ogden, you'll be with Miss Johnson. Ah! Miss Malfoy," he looked straight at Selene, even though she hadn't had time to raise her hand. "You'll be next to Mr Weasley."

"Which one?" The twins piped up simultaneously, wearing identical grins.

"George Weasley," Professor Moody eyed them both for a second, before one of them stood up and reluctantly sat down next to Selene. "Good. Miss Harris, the other Mr Weasley. Miss Edgecombe…"

Selene avoided looking over at George, and instead busied herself with the textbook Cho had slammed on her hand, flicking through the index and running her finger down each letter. When she reached the one she wanted, she turned to that page, still ignoring the gaze boring into her skull.

Everyone knew the Weasley Twins. Selene had been the unlucky reciepient of many of their pranks over the years, whether Fred and George knew her by name or not. There was the incident of the green slime shower in the Ravenclaw Quidditch Changing Rooms, and the time when she had been covered from head to toe in a Muggle sweet called candyfloss. She didn't hate them for it, because you just _couldn't_. No one hated Fred and George Weasley, except the Slytherins.

Which is why she ignored them, because with a brother in Slytherin and a family Pureblood line, you just _couldn't _like... People like them.

"You going to talk to me then?"

Selene tensed, and she hurridly slammed the book shut, again catching her hand between its pages. She didn't want to talk to him, she knew what could happen if she did and... The consequences were not going to be good.

"I thought not..." George continued sullenly, opening his identical textbook to the same page Selene had been reading from.

They were both silent for a while, Selene listening to Moody's description of their curriculum for the year and George doodling something in the margin of page 236.

Suddenly, George turned to her, raised a ginger eyebrow, and asked: "Why is a Malfoy in _Ravenclaw?"_

Selene looked up slowly, her eyes looking into his brown ones for the shortest possible amount of time before she jerked her head down again. Allowing herself a small shrug, she made a curious sound, halfway between a squawk and a mewl.

"Okay - how are _you_ in Ravenclaw?" George smirked, shaking his head. "I'm not going to kill you, you know." he added, as an afterthought.

"U-um..." Selene began, inwardly cursing both Professor Moody and her unco-operative mouth. She would be sitting next to George for the year after all. She could _try_ to make a good impression. It wouldn't be 'fraternising with the enemy' so it was safe... Right?

Unbidden, the memory of that night at the Quidditch World Cup came back to her. Then the images of how her father had acted upon seeing the Dark Mark. Then her brother talking about those strung-up Muggles with such amusement.

"I'm not even sure why I'm talking to you," George admitted, pushing a hand through his red hair. Selene nodded, glancing up from her book again. "But..." he sighed, and held out one, freckled hand. "I guess I am..."

Selene eyed his extended hand in mingled shock and trepidation. She didn't want this. But that didn't stop her muscle memory, the instated discipline that made her take his hand.

"I-I'm Selene," she greeted, despite the alarm bells going off in her head.

"George Weasley," George replied, giving Selene one of his famous smirks. "Come on then, answer my earlier question. Why are you in Ravenclaw?"

He was too easy to talk to. "Er, t-that's where I w-was Sorted," Selene began, swallowing once. "It was there, or Hufflepuff."

"Ooh, a Hufflepuff Malfoy," George grinned at the thought. "Daddy wouldn't be pleased."

Selene flinched, and looked up at Professor Moody to disguise her burning face. George chuckled, abandoning his doodle and noting something above it.

"He wasn't," Selene said suddenly, pulling out a sheet of parchment from her textbook. "Father wasn't happy."

"Trust me, I know what it's like to be the 'bad kid'," George laughed without humour. "Maybe we aren't so different after all."

oOo

"You seemed to be having fun," Cho said suggestively, brushing past a few First Years to catch up with Selene, who was hurrying ahead with a flushed face. "George Weasley, eh?"

"I'm pretty sure he's joined the 'Selene Malfoy is a stuttering idiot' fanclub," Selene answered, with a sigh. She had never been confident, and being faced with such a person as George Weasley had shaken her.

And, in the second, her worst fears were realised. Cho made a muted squeaking noise as she was unceremoniously budged into the wall of the corridor, and the Weasley Twins strode past Selene, arm in arm. George spared her a smile - a smile that had Selene's panic sensors working overtime, but fortunately his twin didn't even see her.

"I think you're becoming a _real person_," Cho smirked, as she watched the twins walk away. "Not just a nerdy ghost."

"Not good," Selene answered weakly, her head spinning as Ogden peered curiously at her scarlet face.

_Not good at all._


	7. Chapter 6: Elfish Welfare

**HI!**

**Sorry about that but I'm really hyper! On a song though, not Lucozade (thank God).**

**I'm sorry I put this story aside. I'm so sorry! *starts to cry manically***

**Thank you to Guest who also reviewed, and I'm sorry if I'm updating strangely but it's only so I don't let any of you who read this down!**

**Right, now that's over with, I don't and never will own Harry Potter!**

**Edited on 8th April 2015**

_"You say that you've never been, all the things that you've seen, slowly fade away." - Don't Look Back In Anger by Oasis_

Chapter 6: Elfish Welfare

The Great Hall was even more crowded and stuffy then it usually seemed to be. Selene took one look at the gathering around the group of girls that she normally sat with, and shook her head.

Cedric - of course - looked up as she turned to go, and sent her a questioning look.

Cedric was Cho's current crush, and he was such a change from the men she had fallen for before. Selene had known him for years, as the Diggory's were an old Pureblood family and their families operated in the same circles.

They'd fallen out of touch after Selene went to Beauxbatons, but after Dumbledore had reluctantly bowed down to her father's insistence that she move to Hogwarts, her and Cedric had become friends again. Admittedly not as close as they had been, but friends all the same.

"Library," she mouthed at him, shifting her bag a little higher on her shoulder. Cedric nodded sympathetically, and Selene relaxed considerably.

Thank goodness it had been Cedric and not Cho that had noticed her change of plans. Cho would most certainly have forced her to sit with them.

She didn't want to push her luck any more than she had to, so Selene turned around, and thought about how much work she could get done while everyone else was at dinner.

oOo

"Cross reference the… The…"

Selene nibbled slightly at her bottom lip, sweeping her hair off her shoulder and massaging her temples. Transfiguration never came easily to her, however hard she tried. It didn't click with her like Charms, or Ancient Runes, or Arithmancy did. It was a mess of gobbledegook. Unfortunately not the actual language, because at least she understood a few words of that.

Golpalott's Tenth Law was making less and less sense the more times she read it over, to the point where the words were messed up into a page of black streaks. Selene slammed the book shut instead, dampening the sound just in time, and turned to the work she could do – Charms.

"Are you okay?"

Selene started, looking up into the equally startled eyes of Hermione Granger. The girl in question placed a considerable time in front of Selene, and offered her a cautious smile.

"You looked like you were having a bit of trouble," Hermione explained. "This should help- was it Transfiguration?"

Selene nodded, taking a deep breath as she accepted the book, picking it up and turning it over in her hands, resisting the urge to sniff it. Old books smelt musty, and of old libraries - like this one. There was just something exquisite about the smell of old books. Selene couldn't place her finger on the scent exactly, but it was on the tip of her tongue.

"Do you, you know," Hermione continued gingerly. "Want any help?"

_"Granger's an insufferable know-it-all," Draco sighed, glaring down at the pile of Divination holiday homework he had been kindly given by Professor Trelawney. "God, and what is up with her hair?"_

"Yes please," Selene answered quickly, before she could change her mind.

Hermione grinned in response, taking the empty seat next to Selene and placing the large wooden box that she had been working with. "Right," she began, suddenly serious. "What is it you were having trouble with?"

"Golpalott's Tenth Law," Selene explained, running her finger down the list of contents and turning to the assigned page. "The one about the assigned mass and it's delegations..."

"Oh, that one?" Although it was Sixth Year work, Selene wasn't surprised that Hermione knew of it. "That's simple- you just need to cross-reference the unknown variable, u."

Selene tested this out, her face slowly breaking out into a smile as it worked, and the Tenth Law finally began to make some kind of sense.

"Thanks!" Selene said, her eyes bright and all thoughts of anything negative pushed out of her mind.

"It's really no problem," Hermione insisted, allowing herself a little smile. "Actually- could you do me a favour?"

This wasn't what Selene had been expecting. But she nodded all the same, holding her breath to prevent her face flushing up. "Anything," she said, after a while, when her reflexes kicked in.

"I just founded this society," Hermione began, reaching into the wooden box and fishing out a brightly coloured badge with the initials SPEW inked onto it. "S.P.E.W. It stands for the Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare."

Selene nodded, shutting the tome and accepting the fluorescent orange badge from Hermione. "So, it's a society for House Elves?" she asked curiously.

Hermione passed her a blue-embossed leaflet in response, and grinned. "Everything you want to know is in here," she stated. "That is, of course, if you'll join."

_Not a good idea._ Her inner voice warned, as Selene began to remember. _Either_ _that_ _memory, or to say yes._

"U-um..." Selene began, swallowing her voice as she remembered Dobby. Her inner voice grew stronger, and louder, until it drowned out everything else. "Yes. Yes I will."

If Hermione noted Selene's abruptness, she didn't comment on it. Instead, she smiled widely, pressing the orange badge into Selene's hand. "Great!" she said cheerily. "I'm planning to ask Harry and Ron to join as well- do you know them? Well, of course you know Harry-"

"Yes, I know them," Selene smiled. She might have been older, and in a different House, but she knew all about Harry Potter and Ron Weasley's escapades, just as much as she knew everything about Hermione Granger's intellect.

"Good!" Hermione grinned again, picking her wooden box up. "I'm off to go and see them... I guess I'll see you soon!"

Selene smiled, somewhat weakly as Hermione departed. She waited until the younger girl's bushy head of hair had disappeared around the corner before Selene began to pack up her books.

The tome Hermione had passed her was still lying on the desk in front of Selene - and, on a whim, she picked it up and carried it over to Madam Pince. "Can I take this out?" she asked, without any of the trepidation you might find in any other Hogwarts student - for Selene was well known to Madam Pince, and the two got along amiably.

"Certainly," Madam Pince said curtly, looking up from her work, flipping open the front cover and stamping the first page with a magical stamp.

The large book barely fit in Selene's bag, so she just carried it, wrapping her arms around it and slipping the S.P.E.W. badge into her pocket for the moment.

Selene checked her watch - she had half an hour until curfew. She relaxed, certain that Mr Filch wouldn't have any reason to catch her out on this night, and set off at a calm pace towards Ravenclaw Tower.

"Ah!"

Selene jumped, almost dropping her book on the floor, turning around and reaching for her wand out of nervous habit. Except her nerviness seemed to be rather misplaced, especially as it turned out to be Neville Longbottom who had startled her.

Something in his expression softened Selene's caution outright, and she lowered her guard faster than she would normally. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly, stepping into the full light, so Neville could see her fully.

The younger boy jumped backwards again, Selene's heart missing a beat from its already fast-paced pattern. "W-who are you?" he asked, half in wonderment, half in terrified fixation.

"Selene," Selene said, biting her bottom lip. "Why are you out here so late?"

Neville gestured down at his legs, which were completely trapped in a trick step. Selene had never seen the comedy value of them, to be honest. She had been on the receiving end of the practical joke many a time, much to Cho's amusement.

Then her Prefect reflexes must have kicked in, because she took hold of Neville's arms and used what little strength she had to haul him out of the trick step, hiding her flushed face behind her hair, which had begun to fall over her face.

"You're not the only one," Selene said awkwardly, offering Neville a little smile, which he returned. "Now, you'd better get back to your Common Room, before curfew begins."

"Thanks," Neville said, almost tripping over the top step of the staircase in his haste to move. Selene giggled, and watched the younger boy move away, a lot of unanswered questions just on the tip of her tongue.

It had started with George, then spread to Hermione, and now Neville. What was happening to her?

With every passing day, her problems were getting bigger and much, much worse. Selene swallowed once more, tucking a loose strand of curly hair behind her ear. Then she turned on her heel, walking towards her Common Room with twice the speed she had possessed before.


	8. Chapter 7: Old Friends, New Ideas

**Well, hello!**

**I'm not going to say much here because my brain wants to get on with this new chapter. Big cheers though; I've just passed 600 views! Yay for me!**

**Thank you to BecauseImClever12 for her useful review - yes, I understand completely what you mean, that's maybe my greatest weakness. I'm really pleased you like it though and I've tried to make this chapter my own.**

**As always, I don't own Harry Potter, I only own Lily, Selene and now Leanne.**

* * *

"Wait for something better, no one behind you." - This Is Your Life by The Killers

* * *

Chapter 7: Old Friends, New Ideas

"But that's a _lie_ Harry!" Hermione protested sharply over breakfast. "You didn't imagine your scar hurting and you know it."

"So what?" Harry speared a piece of bacon. "He's not going back to Azkaban because of me."

"Drop it." Ron commanded Hermione as she went to open her mouth again, and for once she fell silent. "Thanks 'Mione. We'd better get going Harry, Moody'll go beserk if we're late for Defence Against the Dark Arts."

There lessons were quickly becoming more difficult and demanding than ever before, especially Defence Against the Dark Arts. To the class's surprise, Professor Moody had announced that he would be putting the Imperius curse on them each in turn, to demonstrate it's power and to see if anyone could resist it's effects.

"You said it was illegal Professor." Hermione said uncertainly, as Moody cleared away the desks with a sweep of his wand. "You said – to use it against another human being was –"

"Dumbledore wants you to be taught what it feels like. If you'd rather learn the hard way – when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely – fine by me. You're excused. Off you go."

As Moody pointed one gnarled finger towards the door, Hermione turned beetroot red and muttered something about not meaning that she wanted to leave, she was only making sure.

Moody began to beckon students forwards in turn and put the curse upon them. Harry watched as his classmates did the most extraordinary things under it's influence. Dean Thomas hopped three times around the room, singing 'What Makes You Beautiful'. Lavender Brown imitated a badger. Neville did a triple backflip that he would most definitely not have been able to do on his own. Not one of them could fight the curse off, and they each only recovered when Moody lifted the curse.

"Potter." Moody barked. "You next."

Harry moved forward into the middle of the classroom, and was only vaguely aware of Moody raising his wand at him. "Imperio."

A blissful sensation overtook Harry, and he felt a floating sensation, as if he was floating in water. Every independent thought ceased to exist, it was only him and the feeling as if he would do anything Moody asked him to do.

"Jump onto the desk."

When they arrived in the Entrance Hall after a Care Of Magical Creatures Lesson later that week, they found themselves unable to proceed up the stairs owing to the large crowd of students gathered around a large sign that had appeared at the foot of the large marble staircase.

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

_The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 O'Clock on Friday 30__th__ October. Lessons will end half an hour early._

_ Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast._

"Only a week away!" Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff said, emerging from the crowd. "I wonder if Cedric knows? Think I'll go and tell him."

"Cedric?" Ron asked blankly.

"Diggory." Harry supplied. "He must be entering the Tournament."

"That idiot - Hogwarts champion?" sked Ron incredulously, as they pushed their way through the chattering crowd. "Better than a Slytherin, I suppose."

When they went down for breakfast on the morning of the 30th October, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each representing a Hogwarts house – red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table was the biggest banner of all, depicting the Hogwarts coat of arms, lion, eagle, badger and snake united all around a large letter 'H'.

Harry, Ron and Hermione spotted Fred and George at the Gryffindor table, again most unusually sitting apart from everyone else and conversing in low voices. Ron led the way over to them.

"It's a bummer all right." George was saying gloomily to Fred. "But if he won't talk to us in person, we'll have to send it to him. Or we'll stuff it into his hand."

"What's a bummer?" Ron asked George.

"Having a nosy git like you for a brother." Fred supplied, looking irritated at the interruption.

"You two got any more ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet?" Harry asked. "Thought any more about how you're going to enter?"

"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasn't telling." Said George bitterly. "She just told me to shut up and get on with Transfiguring my raccoon."

"Wonder what the tasks are going to be?" Ron pondered thoughtfully.

Before Ron's question could be answered, Hedwig swooped down and deposited a letter in front of Harry. Quickly checking that Fred and George were safely immersed in further discussions about the Triwizard Tournament, he offered Hedwig his bacon rinds and read the letter aloud in a whisper to Ron and Hermione.

_Nice try, Harry,_

_ I'm back in the country and well hidden. I want you to keep me posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts. Don't use Hedwig, keep changing owls, and don't worry about me, just watch out for yourself. Don't forget what I said about your scar._

_ Sirius._

"Why'd you have to keep changing owls?" Ron asked in low voice.

"Hedwig'll attract too much attention. They aren't exactly native." Hermione said at once.

When the bell rang early, Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks and rushed back downstairs into the Entrance Hall.

The Heads of houses were ordering their students into lines. "Follow me please." Said Professor McGonagall. "First years in front… no pushing…"

They filed down the front steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest. Harry, standing between Ron and Hermione in the fourth row from the front, saw Dennis Creevey positively shivering with anticipation along with the other first years.

"_There!_" Yelled a sixth year, pointing over the forest.

Something large, much larger than a broomstick was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time.

As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forest, the lights shining from the castle hit it, revealing a gigantic powder blue horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house. It soared towards them, pulled by a dozen palomino winged horses, each the size of an elephant.

The front three rows of students drew backwards as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in in to land at a tremendous speed before crashing down.

A boy in pale blue robes sprang forward and opened the doors to the coach, and the most gigantic woman Harry had ever seen emerged, followed by a dozen girls and boys, all in their late teens.

One of the prettier girls, a tall blonde haired beauty gasped slightly as she looked over towards the Ravenclaws, and nudged her friend, a black haired girl.

"Selene!" They exclaimed in tandem, rushing over towards the Ravenclaw group, as their Headmistress made no attempt to stop them.

One of the Ravenclaw sixth year girls struggled through the crowd with a huge grin on her face. In facet, now Harry thought about it, that was Malfoy's sister. What was she doing?

"Leanne! Fleur!" She smiled, hugging the two French girls, before speaking to them excitedly in French.

"What the-?" Ron raised an eyebrow. "How does Malfoy senior know those extraordinarily beautiful French girls?"

"Never mind them, she knows _all _of them!" Hermione pointed out the masses of people gathered around Malfoy's sister, all sounding happy. "And I wonder why she knows French so well…"

"Well, she can set me up with the blonde one." Ron said smugly. "It's always useful having inter-continental relations. Ow, 'Mione…" Rubbing the spot on his arm where Hermione had punched him, Ron glared at her.

"Last month you were all 'Oh my god she's Malfoy's sister I'm never going to talk to her' and now, after you find out her friends are pretty you instantly think 'Yay! Now she can hook me up!' Honestly Ronald."

"Oh. My. God." Ron whispered, totally ignoring Hermione.

"What is it now?"

"It's Krum." Ron spoke in a hushed whisper, like the very mention of his name was sacred. "It's Viktor bloody Krum!"

"What? Where?" Harry looked around for a glimpse of the famous Quidditch player. "He's at Durmstrang? He's still in school?"

"Evidently." Hermione scoffed. "You can't like someone just because they're famous Ronald."

"You can talk." Ron grumbled, standing on his tiptoes to see over a tall third year. "Come on, move out of the way, I can't see!"

Eventually, the houses were cleared to go back inside to the Great Hall. Ron predictably spent the short walk trying to spot Viktor Krum amongst the large crowds of Durmstrang pupils. After he gave up on that, he spent the little while before the students arrived in the hall trying to make his hair less messy so he'd make a good impression with the French girls.

Finally, the Beauxbatons students swanned into the hall gracefully and daintily, glancing around for a few moments before following the blonde girl to the Ravenclaw table. They were shortly joined by Durmstrang, who took seats with Slytherin, much to Ron's disappointment.

"The Tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast." Dumbledore called out to sea of students. "I now invite you all to eat, drink and make friends that'll last a lifetime."

He sat down and instantly the numerous noise of people clattering forks against bowls and plates filled the Great Hall. Instead of just familiar English dishes, there were French and Scandinavian dishes too. Ron just happened to be placed in front of a plate full of seafood stew, and recoiled at its fishy smell.

"What the heck is _that?_" Ron asked, pointing to the dish.

"Bouillabaisse." Hermione explained. "I had it on holiday, summer before last. Go on, try some."

Ron hastily shook his head and instead turned to something he was more familiar with; Lasagne. "You never know Hermione, there might be a Skrewt in there. I don't want to take my chances."

"Excuse me? Are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?" A voice said from behind them. It was the French girl that knew Malfoy's sister. Now she was inside, Harry could see the long, silvery blonde sheet of hair that hung to her waist and her deep blue eyes. Ron blushed bright red and pushed the dish towards her, muttering something unintelligible.

"Um, sorry." Hermione cut in. "How do you know that girl?" She gestured over to where Malfoy's sister was chatting to Cho Chang and a French boy.

The French girls face lit up slightly and smiled kindly at Hermione, making Ron turn red again. "We are good friends, no? She is lovely girl, I know her from Beauxbatons. You know her too?"

"Um… kind of." Harry hazarded.

The French girl positively beamed. "'Arry Potter, no? Selene doesn't talk about you in 'er letters. Excuse me, I must go and ask 'er."

The girl walked off towards the Ravenclaws, and Ron regained his use of speech. "Wow."

Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to her stew. "Ronald, you know very well that she won't so much as look at you."

"Yes – but George sits next to Malfoy's sister in Defence Against the Dark Arts! He can get her to put in a good word for me!" Ron plotted, sounding more and more excited by the millisecond.

"You might want to start by calling her Selene." Hermione recommended. "You won't get anywhere by referring to her as Malfoy's sister or Malfoy senior."

"And you, my dear brother, are deluded." George cut in. "If you want Selene to get that hot French girl to go out with you, you'll have to ask her yourself."

"No way." Ron blanched. "I'm not talking to Malfoy's sister."

"She's really nice." Hermione protested. "She's very quiet, always in the library before lessons and after dinner, helps me out with Charms and Arithmancy if I'm stuck, she was the one that joined S.P.E.W. and actually _wears her badge_!" Hermione ended with thinly veiled venom at Harry and Ron's reluctance to wear the brightly coloured badges. "She doesn't bite, really. But you have to talk to her, she's a bit shy."

"You sound like you're giving me instructions on how to talk to cats." Ron grumbled.

**Hello!**

**Yes, this is ready to post! Yay! I'm not rubbish at writing after all! **

**You know, having music on while writing helps if you're like me. I've made a huge playlist with the Killers, Panic! At The Disco, Good Charlotte, 30 Seconds To Mars, Fall Out Boy and U2 on (amongst others) and it's really helping me write.**

**Now, down to the beeswax. I can't draw, sadly. So I need some help with pictures of what Lily, Selene and possibly Leanne (The French girl with Fleur) look like. Oh, Leanne's the one with the black hair. If you need any help in their basic looks eg. Hair colour, eye colour, etc. then…**

**Lily: Red Hair, Green Eyes, About 5'4"**

**Selene: Brown Hair, Blue Eyes, About 5'8"**

**Leanne: Black Hair, Green Eyes, About 5'1"**

**Thanks, I really need help on this front. **

**TTFN!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	9. Chapter 8: The Extra Champion

**Hip hip hello!**

**A huge thanks to Kacey – I don't mind that you haven't reviewed lately, it's still nice getting regular reviews!**

**Also to BecauseImClever12 – I'm glad you liked what I added. Lily is the younger sister (by six years, Lily is in her fifth year at Hogwarts) of Nymphadora, and it isn't a coincidence that she looks like Lily Evans/Potter. I've decided that Andromeda Tonks was in the Order of the Phoenix along with James and Lily Potter, at least until Lily was born. Lily isn't a Metamophagus (did I spell that right?) like Tonks but she was born with and has the same shade of red hair as Lily Evans/Potter. Andromeda named her after Lily due to this, but the longer version is Liliana rather than the Lilian everyone says is long for Lily Evans/Potter's first name.**

**Anyway, thank you to everyone who favourite/followed, and remember to press that button at the bottom of this page!**

**I don't own Harry bloody Potter, okay? (God this is getting tedious…)**

* * *

"Hello, I'm sorry, I know you I knew you, I think I can remember your name." - Pop Song '89 by R.E.M.

* * *

Chapter 8: The Extra Champion

"Right, this is it." Ron squared his shoulders and looked right across to the Ravenclaw table. "I'm going to ask her."

"Hey, Ron?" Harry was struck with a sudden idea. "Can you ask if she's friends with Cho?"

"Yeah, mate." Ron winked suggestively at Harry, who blushed crimson and avoided Hermione's eagle-eyed gaze. "You're pretty obvious. Staring all day at the Ravenclaws, hoping to catch a glimpse of Cho's eyes…" He snickered but walked off before Harry could comment further.

Walking across the Hall, Ron could basically feel the gaze of his brothers boring onto his back. He wanted nothing better than to give them the finger, but that wouldn't give a good lasting impression on the beautiful French girl, or her English Malfoy's sister friend.

"Um…" He began, standing behind Malfoy's sister, who jumped about twenty feet in the air at having him stand behind her. "Sorry if I startled you."

"Erm… that's okay." Malfoy's sister brushed her long brown hair out of her face. "Hey, aren't you George's brother? Ron Weasley?"

"Yeah." Ron shifted awkwardly under the confused expression Malfoy's sister was using. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something."

'Sure." Malfoy's sister glanced around at her group of friends which included, Ron noticed, both the pretty French chick and Cho Chang. "I'll see you guys soon." She got up and grabbed her bag, somehow instinctively knowing that Ron wouldn't like to ask the question in front of everyone. "Do you want to go outside?"

"Nah, the Entrance Hall'll be okay." Drawled Ron. "Why're you in Ravenclaw?"

"Oh." She seemed taken aback by this question. "Well, I was sorted in my third year. I was at Beauxbatons you see, before." She answered his silent question. "Anyway, what did you want to ask me?"

Ron blushed red and fingered the sleeve of his robe carefully. "I wanted to ask about that pretty French girl you know."

Malfoy's sister laughed quietly, the sound taking Ron aback. It wasn't mean, or snarky, or at another's expense. It was just a laugh. "Fleur? You'd be surprised how many people have asked me that question. I'm sorry, you don't have much of a chance. She's part Veela, you know? I'm sorry though. I'm Selene by the way."

She didn't hold her hand out, but her smile was warm and slightly reminiscent of the look Hermione gets when she meets someone for the first time. "Ron Weasley."

Still, Ron felt slightly downcast as he walked back to the Gryffindor table. He sat down grumpily in front of a platter of bacon and hastily piled a load onto his plate. Harry noticed his friend's downcast expression and shifted into Ron's peripheral vision. "No luck, huh?"

"Nah." Ron stabbed the bacon, annoyed, but managed to remember the question Harry had asked him what seemed like an era ago. "But that Selene girl, she seems pretty good friends with Cho. You're in with a chance, mate."

"Told you she wasn't too bad." Hermione pointed out, complacency evident in her voice.

"Shut up 'Mione." Ron growled, shoving the bacon in his mouth. "She seems nice, but you can never tell."

Hermione rolled her eyes, a gesture that was now well known to both boys. "If you'll excuse me, I need to visit the library before first lesson. I will see you two in Transfiguration."

"We'll walk out with you." Harry tugged Ron away from his castle of bacon. "Ron, stop eating. We'll be late for McGonagall."

"But-" Ron protested much to his chagrin, but allowed himself to be dragged out of the hall. "Bacon!" He pointed at the hall carefully, like he was talking to a child. "Harry, Hermione, bacon!"

"We know Ronald."

There was a considerable crowd gathered in the Entrance Hall, and the trio hastily pushed themselves to the forefront of it without a moments hesitation.

Fred and George were at the eye of the hurricane, both looking very pleased with themselves along with Lee. They were each holding a flask of something unrecognisable.

George noticed Harry, Ron and Hermione and sent a grin in their direction. "Watch and learn ickle Ronnie, watch and learn." He teased, making the tips of Ron's ears turn pink.

"Aging Potion." Fred explained, dangling the flask between two fingers gleefully. "Only a bit, only need to be five months older."

Harry noticed Malfoy's sister shaking her head in the corner of the room, standing next to (his heart skipped a beat) Cho Chang. She looked like she was about to say something but, as predicted, Hermione got there first.

"It won't work." She warned, putting a hand on her hip scathingly.

"Of _course _it'll work 'Mione." George began.

"Dumbledore would never of thought that anyone would-"

"-Use anything as simple and idiotic as an Aging Potion" Lee finished. "You two gentlemen go first though, I'll follow if it works."

"Scared much?" Fred asked, but nodded to his twin as they took a swig of the potion. "Here goes."

The twins hopped over the Age Line in perfect unison, and for a couple of seconds nothing happened. Lee basically crowed with joy and tried to follow them over the line, not pausing for a moment like he probably should've done.

With a loud bang, Fred and George skidded backwards across the Entrance Hall floor, Lee looking slightly sheepish. Within milliseconds they had grown long white beards complete with moustaches and sideburns.

"But you said-"They said simultaneously. Wearing identical expressions of fury, they wrestled each other to the ground, engaging in some weird type of wrestling match. Lee just stood and laughed at their faces, along with the majority of the Entrance Hall.

"Mr Weasleys." Dumbledore greeted, a twinkle in his eyes. "May I say how good those beards look on you?"

The twins stopped wrestling for a minute and took a good look at each other. They too broke out into laughter as Dumbledore continued.

"Mr Jorden, will you take these two up to the Hospital wing? Madam Pomfrey is already treating Miss Fawcett of Ravenclaw and Mr Stubbins of Hufflepuff."

Lee picked the twins up and escorted them up the staircase, his loud peals of laughter emanating down the stairs as they walked away. The gathering gradually began to disperse, and Hermione nodded slightly, emphasising her earlier point. They continued on to their Transfiguration classroom, crossing their fingers that McGonagall wasn't there yet.

Later that evening, the trio sat at the Gryffindor table along with the rest of their house, trying to eat something but failing miserably. Ron had surprisingly only managed a few mouthfuls of his pie before giving up and starting to watch Percy's every move.

Lily gave Percy a sly little wave and mouthed something obscene in his direction, making Harry choke on his pumpkin juice and splutter slightly.

Percy resolutely ignored Lily, instead focusing his efforts on Mr Crouch, who was seated beside him. Ron fought the urge to give him the two-fingered salute and instead turned to Hermione, who was talking excitedly about previous Tournaments to a very bored Ginny.

"'Mione, how long is it?" Ron groaned.

Before Hermione could answer, the tables suddenly cleared of all food and Dumbledore got to his feet.

"Welcome!" He called and the hall immediately became silent. "The time has come for the Goblet of Fire to choose its three competitors! If your name is called, I ask you to walk up this hall to the room to the left of this, exiting through the door to the left of the top table."

"Come on Angelina." Lily muttered. "Don't let it be a Slytherin, don't let it be a Slytherin…"

The Goblet glowed bright green, before spitting out a few sparks and emitting a small sheet of paper into Dumbledore's outstretched hands. He unfurled it, scanned it for a second, before a small smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"The champion for Beauxbatons Academy." He read aloud. "Is Fleur Delacour!"

"Is that-" Harry asked Ron, which was reciprocated with a nod.

Over at the Ravenclaw table, he could see Fleur being congratulated by many of the other Beauxbatons girls, and notably Malfoy's sister, who gave Fleur a hug before pushing her in the direction of the room behind the top table. Fleur stood up, attracting the amorous attention of many boys as she sauntered up to the door.

The Goblet glowed bright green again, and many people were shushed by their classmates as Dumbledore began to read out the name on the second sheet of paper. "The champion for Durmstrang is Viktor Krum!"

"It's Krum!" Ron yelled above the great noise that was coming from the Durmstrang students. "It's obvious he would be the champion!"

Dumbledore yelled for attention again as the third and last slip of paper jumped out of the Goblet. Lily's mutters became more and more attentive as she prayed to Satan for it not to be a Slytherin.

"The champion for Hogwarts is Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore said, but was barely heard above the ecstatic screams of the Hufflepuffs. Ron sighed and buried his head in his hands, and Lily gripped her fork in her hand with a murderous expression on her face.

"Damn." She swore, keeping her left hand pinned to the table so she wouldn't stab Cedric before he even made it to the back room. "Bad luck Angelina."

Harry felt slightly depressed that in fact it wouldn't be a Gryffindor representing them in the Triwizard Tournament, but decided to focus his attention on keeping Lily from committing Huffle-cide.

That's why he didn't notice when the Goblet glowed green for a fourth time. Gradually, the hall emptied of any noise and Harry returned his attention to Dumbledore, who was staring incredulously at the sheet of parchment in his hand.

"Harry Potter."

* * *

Harry looked at Cedric as they walked up the grand staircase together. "Well, um." Cedric began, fiddling with his shirt collar carefully. "I'll see you tomorrow Harry."

"Yeah, bye." Harry waved awkwardly as Cedric departed to the Hufflepuff common room.

Continuing up the stairs to Gryffindor table, Harry took a deep breath and looked up at the Fat Lady. "Hinkypunks." He said, ignoring the Fat Lady's interested glance.

"HARRY!" Everyone yelled as he walked through the portrait hole. He was bombarded by questions and congratulatory screams on all sides, as he noticed wryly the huge banners depicting Harry as Triwizard champion.

"Glad it could be a Gryffindor, even if it's not me!" Angelina commented, patting Harry on the shoulder.

"How did you get in without getting a beard?" The twins yelled over the ruckus. "Wish you'd told us mate!"

"Well done Harry!" An unfamiliar fifth year screeched.

"Really?" Lily cocked an eyebrow. "You didn't tell me? I'd of bloody obliterated Diggory! It's all up to you now!"

Harry waded his way through the groups of people to the stairs that led to the Gryffindor Fourth-Year boy's dormitory, turning around to address the crowds of delighted groupies that had followed him. "Thanks, yes, thanks. But I'm going to bed."

**Hello!**

**I'm here to warn you, I shall be leaving chapters on cliff-hangers from this day forth! HA HA!**

**I've put another story up, a one-shot, it's not the greatest but I'm pretty pleased with it. Anyway, I've got lots and lots of good ideas in my mind and I plan to use them all sometime.**

**Please review!  
Eleanor xxx**


	10. Chapter 9: Annoying Assumptions

**Ciao! (Italian for 'Hi!')**

**Welcome to chapter 9! And I have officially passed 1,000 views! Thank you so much for supporting me! Come on you guys, you know what that little button does and how it helps me! Please review!**

**Thanks to Kacey (again!) for her review, I'm glad you think Selene's nice, but I do need some indication if she's becoming a bit too Mary-Sue. I've included some dialogue to dispel this eventuality but I still need some outside view on it. And you're right; I'd never abandon this story! I've got so much to write still!**

**And, unfortunately, I don't own Harry Potter. All recognisable characters belong to Jo.**

**This chapter focuses more on the relationship between Fleur and Selene, and there is a lot more of the twins in this too! (If you hadn't guessed the twins are my favourite canon characters along with Sirius!) I also added a little of Fred's P.O.V. as he actually notices Selene for the first time as more than just Malfoy's sister… Ha, actually now I read it it's reminding me of how everyone reacts in my school when someone gets given a Valentine's Day present!**

* * *

"You're looking for a way out, I can feel it." - A Matter Of Time by The Killers

* * *

Chapter 9: Annoying Assumptions

Fleur Delacour sauntered through the Great Hall, attracting the gazes of many boys, English, French and Scandinavian. That was a natural part of her Veela charm, and it was magnified by her new status as Triwizard champion.

And she couldn't deny that she liked it. In fact, she loved it. She always had. She always outshone everyone at Beauxbatons by a significant majority and anyone accepted into her popular clique was lucky beyond words. It was very select.

She'd shocked everyone by accepting the English girl into her group, least of all her childhood friends who'd moved up to magical education with Fleur. She was geeky, shy, clumsy, everything that was the opposite of Fleur. She couldn't of been more secluded if she'd stuck a label on her forehead that read 'Hermit Crab'.

"Selene!" Fleur exclaimed, sitting down next to her friend, making Michael Corner promptly ignore his erstwhile girlfriend and drool slightly at her. "It eez too loud een 'ere, no? May we go outside?" Fleur asked, cringing awkwardly at her poor English. "Pardon." She apologised to Selene's English friends.

"Of course." Selene slung her bag over her shoulder, nearly clobbering some poor second year around the head. Fleur rolled her eyes at Selene's continued lack of grace, despite the classes she had given her four years ago. She was probably still as bad at dancing as ever. "We can go to the Black Lake?" She offered, speaking in French for the benefit of Fleur.

Smiling gratefully, Fleur nodded, sending her silvery blonde hair swishing in a long curtain. "That would be lovely."

The two friends walked outside into the grounds, Fleur catching the eye of a particularly handsome English boy and giving him a flirty wave. Selene laughed at her non-stop flirting gene and checked who it was, in order to judge whether she should give him psychiatric help afterwards.

To her surprise, it was George. Stifling a giggle behind her hand, she dragged Fleur away from him and swallowed her helpless laughter. "Oh, that's George Weasley." She explained.

"Hmm… George Weasley…" Fleur pondered, tapping her chin with a slim finger thoughtfully. "He is handsome. Do you know him?"

"Um, kinda." Selene reasoned in her mind. "I sit next to him in Defence against the Dark Arts. I don't really know him all that well but he's okay, I guess."

"He's more than okay." Fleur grinned, showing her spotless white teeth. "He's… what do you English call it? Lush, that's the word! He's lush!"

Selene pretended to puke at Fleur's words, but laughed at her friend's attitude towards the highly annoying boy. "Come on then, we'll go talk to him!"

"Okay!" Fleur laughed, spinning around, her hair flying out around her. "Let's go talk to this George Weasley!"

Funnily enough, George was still staring at Fleur when the pair walked up to him. Selene giggled again, snapping him out of his stupor.

"Selene!" He greeted with a crazed grin. "And who is this lovely girl?" He bent to kiss Fleur's hand. "George Weasley. You must be Fleur Delacour."

"Eet eez _charmant_ to meet you too George Weezly." Fleur reciprocated, making George blush furiously. "Selene 'as told me much about you!"

"Fleur…" Selene warned. "Don't overdo it."

"Has she now?" George tore his gaze away from Fleur and regarded Selene. "All good, I hope?"

"Now zat would be telling." Fleur laughed, sending a sly glance at Selene.

"Um, I need to go to the Library!" Selene improvised wildly, trying to drag Fleur away from her flirt-fest. "Come on, I still need to show you Ravenclaw tower!"

"Of course. Goodbye George!" Fleur gave George another flirty wave before following Selene back towards the castle. "Nah, he's weird."

Selene tried and failed to hold back her laughter, instead dissolving into helpless giggles at George's dumbstruck expression and Fleur's conclusion. "Ha, he has a twin you know. I haven't actually met his doppelganger, but they're supposedly identical."

"Ooh…" Fleur giggled girlishly, sending two nearby Hufflepuffs into a daydream. "You can have fun with twins. Do you remember the Narlart twins that were two years above us? Samuel and Jaques, that's it. I dated both of them in our second year." She thought aloud nostalgically.

One of the reasons Selene was so shy, apart from her childhood upbringing, was down to the fact that no one ever gave her a second glance when she was with Fleur. Or Cho, for that matter. Fleur was part-Veela, and was generically beautiful. Cho was Chinese, which made her interesting to many and she had a slightly similar mantra to Fleur, minus the heavy flirting at all hours of the day.

The Narlat twins had passed into French fokelore several years ago. Fleur had originally dated Samuel, until Jaques decided it would be funny to pretend to be his twin brother for a day, and vica versa. Fleur realised this with the help of Selene and made a Polyjuice Potion, and transformed Leanne into her body double for an hour. Needless to say, this didn't end well and both twins got so confused that Selene ended up having to Stun them and erase their memories of the incident.

"Ah, good times." Selene reminisced, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "First time I ever used Stupefy."

Fred's P.O.V.

"George?" Fred clicked his fingers several times in front of his twin's face. "Georgie?"

"Huh?" He started, looking around. "What? Where are – oh. Hi Fred." He greeted, shoving his hands into the pockets of his robes. "What're you doing?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Fred groaned, face-palming himself. "Don't tell me, don't tell me, Snape looked at you. I'm right, aren't I?"

George looked at Fred strangely. "No… why would you think that. No," A glazed look passed over his expression. "Fleur Delacour talked to me…"

Snickering, Fred glanced over to where Fleur was animatedly chatting to a couple of pretty Ravenclaws. "Nah mate, you okay? She'd never talk to you."

"She did." He insisted, gesturing to the conversation the three girls were having. "See the girl on the left?" George asked, pausing for an answer.

Fred looked over and noticed the girl George was meaning. She had her back to him but she seemed quite tall for a girl and she had long brown hair that she brushed off her face every so often. "Her? Yeah. Cute I think, but I can't tell without seeing her face." He reasoned.

For some dumbfounded reason George found this hilarious. "Right… well, she knows Fleur and somehow got Fleur to talk to me! Cool, right?"

"Wait, she knows Fleur?" Fred asked, putting two and two together to make pi r squared. "So she's-"

The girl looked around for a second. She was damn pretty, even if Fred was technically dating Angelina for the moment. Bright light blue eyes, slight smile… You couldn't really forget someone _that _shy.

"Malfoy's sister?" Fred recoiled slightly. He had just thought Malfoy's sister was _cute_? What the bloody hell was wrong with him?

"Yup." Grinned George, looking way too pleased with himself at Fred's disgusted expression. "You know what, I think you should go talk to her."

"No fucking way George." He ignored the Ravenclaw table and glared at his brother. "She'll try to convert me to her family's pig-headed beliefs and sacrifice Errol to whatever bloody god her family worships."

"You're getting her confused with Lily there." George reminded, patting him on the shoulder consolingly. "And as Lily is younger, shorter and weirder. They are truly nothing alike."

"You sure about that?" Muttered Fred, glowering darkly at his dinner. "They are cousins after all."

"I have a cousin?" A way too excited and hyperactive Lily bounced into sight. "Yay! Someone to convert to Satanism!"

"I don't think this cousin would react very well Lily." George tapped his fingers onto the table. "In fact, if I'm not mistaken Freddie here just thought that-"

"SHUT UP!" Fred gritted his teeth and focused on maintaining his staring contest with his plate. "You're mistaken."

"Ah, has ickle Freddie got an ickle crush?" Now Ginny was on the plot. After all, it's annoying having your twin brother taunt him, even worse when he's joined by a maniac teenage girl but the worst of all is when your little sister joins in on the fun.

"Shut it Ginny." If it was possible, Fred's expression got even darker and his smile completely emigrated. "I do not fancy Malfoy's sister."

Damn.

"MALFOY'S SISTER?" Ginny positively squealed. "Oh my god this is hilarious! Wait until I tell Ron and Harry, they'll be so surprised I think it might give them a heart attack!" She giggled manically.

"Gin, don't your hopes up. I do not fancy her. She's just… okay looking."

"Okay looking?" George raised a mocking eyebrow at his twin. "God, that's a bit of an understatement. He was openly gawping at her a moment ago Gin."

"I was _not_." Fred defended, crossing his arms and abandoning the pointless staring contest to glare around at the small group that had gathered.

"If you say so." Ginny sung, ducking the swipe that Fred sent at her head.

Normal P.O.V.

"Selene." Fleur whispered in a hushed voice.

"Yeah?" She looked up from her book, a glimmer of surprise in her face.

"The Weasley twins are looking at you." She squealed.

"What?" Selene looked around quickly. Sure enough, one of them was staring right at her. "No, um… that's weird. They hardly talk to me, much less stare at me."

"You're in denial!" Cho crowed. "I knew your absolute refusal to date was unfounded!" She looked like she was about to stalk right over to the Gryffindor's and announce this fact through a magical megaphone.

"No, I never said I didn't date, I only said that I'd have to find someone crazy enough to date a Ravenclaw Malfoy." Selene returned to _Advanced Charms and their Magical Abilities, _shaking her head mentally at Cho's inability to understand her total unpopularity with most of the school. Those twins were probably figuring out how to prank her anyway, and that's not a good thing at all.

"Those twins are bloody crazy." Now Cedric had miraculously appeared. Damn those nosy Hufflepuffs.

"Really? I'd never noticed." She muttered sarcastically, keeping her focus trained on the book in front of her. The Patronus Charm, creates a spirit guardian to ward away creatures that have no other defence tactics, examples include-

"Ignore her." She could hear Cho explaining to her ersatz boyfriend. "She's in denial that a boy has looked at her for something other than just homework help."

"Well done Selene." Cedric patted her shoulder in congratulation. "You just had to wait for a bit, that's all."

"Thanks Cedric, but I'm afraid Cho's got you confused. Those twins were planning how to prank me that's all. Don't get your hopes up." Selene slipped the book expertly into a spare space in her bag. "What time is it?"

"Almost _vingt_." Fleur checked her watch carefully. "It would be good to leave soon. You wanted to show me Ravenclaw tower, _non?_"

"Oh! Yes!"

Selene glanced to over the table where Cho and Cedric were sitting. "I'll see you later Cho. Nice to see you Cedric."

Cho gave her friend a little wave, instead preferring to perch on Cedric's lap while he muttered a goodbye.

Fred's P.O.V.

"She's going now; if you want to talk to her you'd better hurry up!" George pressed, nudging his twin in the direction of the Entrance Hall.

"I don't want to talk to her." Fred muttered, scowling at his shoes. "Leave me alone."

"I… am mortally wounded!" George clutched his heart dramatically and twirled around, shocking several first years into oblivion.

"Shut up." He growled, still staring at the floor as he began the long walk towards the staircase. "What is your bloody problem Ge-"

He wasn't looking where he was going and promptly walked straight into some poor girl. "Oh, I'm sorry." Fred apologised hastily. The girl squeaked slightly and stooped to the floor to retrieve her dropped books, along with her friend.

"Oh, look who it is!" George grinned and pushed Fred towards the girl on the floor. "Hello Selene! Fleur!"

"George you fucking bastard!" He whispered, as Selene raised her eyes to smile at George. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Selene," George ignored him. "This is my slightly worse-looking twin brother Fred. Say hello Fred." Then he whispered to Selene in an undertone. "He's annoyed because I got him to look at you."

"GEORGE!" Clutching his forehead, Fred kept himself from lunging at his brother.

"Um, hi." Selene transferred her gaze to Fred. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Selene.

His glare could've frozen over the North Pole. "Selene _Malfoy_."

Her smile dropped and her eyes darkened for a split second. "Yeah, so?" She snapped, standing back on her own two feet. "Got a problem with that?"

"No, I never have a problem with disgusting, two-faced pureblood bigots." Fred said sarcastically. "Simply a _pleasure _to meet you."

Maybe that wasn't the wisest move to make, because now he had two angry girls standing in front of him. The French chick looked like she was about to club him to death with her handbag and Selene's coldly disinterested look was reminiscent of her mother. Fred could feel George's shocked expression boring into his skull. He never flipped out at someone like that unless they'd seriously pissed him off.

"Well, you're out of luck then." Selene gritted her teeth. "The only pureblood bigot around here's you. Nice to see you again George."

**Hi!**

**Before you say anything about Fred being such a dick at the end of this chapter; I think that George is the slightly more level-headed of the pair. He's more likely to accept someone than Fred is, because Fred's just really stubborn. Don't worry though, he'll come round to Selene eventually… really eventually after lots and lots of insult-throwing contests and Schadenfreude (German word; pleasure at another's expense). But he should start to like her at around Christmas is everything goes to plan…**

**As always, REVIEW AND I'LL GIVE YOU COOKIES!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	11. Chapter 10: Never Back Down

**Konnichiwa!**

**Salutations to my likeminded Potterhead followers and their consistent reviews and favs! Thank you so much for supporting me over the last 10 chapters! **

**Wow. Thanks lightbabe, and you're right Fred's horrible but he does have reasons to not hear her out. Kacey, cookies you shall get! (Throws cookies around madly) I'm glad Selene's not a Mary-Sue, one of my favourite childhood programmes was full to the brim of them, all to varying degrees (See if anyone can guess what that programme was! Shout-out if you do!).**

**I promise that things will improve from here on out! Fred's just a little stubborn, he'll come round sometime. George is the slightly less Schadenfreude of the pair, but I doubt he'll ever me more than a very good friend of Selene.**

**And as always, I don't own Harry flamin' Potter!**

* * *

"Why don't you tell me my future, why don't I sell you my soul?" - Voodoo Child by Rogue Traders

* * *

Chapter 10: Never Back Down

"Let me get this straight." Cho perched on the end of the sofa in the Ravenclaw common room. "You told Fred Weasley he was a pureblood bigot?"

"I've told you, I don't know what the hell I was thinking! You're talking to the girl that infamously had a bucket of candyfloss tipped over her head and didn't even swear, just laughed it off. What's wrong with me?" Selene threw down her book and buried her head in her hands.

"That was pretty funny, this however is not." Cho pointed out, picking up Selene's book and inspecting its contents. "Who does he think he is?"

"It doesn't matter Cho. This has happened before too many times to count but you're going overboard on this one. Leave me in peace to do my Transfiguration homework please; I need to change this book into an iguana before tomorrow."

Grabbing the book, Selene grabbed her wand again and tried in vain to change it into something at least resembling the lizard it was supposed to. She managed to give it a tail, but it wouldn't walk and you could still open it.

"Holy Rowena, you still can't do that?" Cho grinned sheepishly and fully transformed the book. "You need to give it a bit more oomph. You never have this problem in Charms."

"Well, Professor Flitwick's obsessed with the idea that I'm some kind of wonder kid. It'd be okay if he didn't tell _every single teacher in the school_! Now Professor McGonagall gives me extra homework and Snape sneers and makes some derogatory comment every time I screw up a potion, which is pretty much every other day." Selene tucked her legs up to her chest and untied her long hair from her ponytail. "Oh yeah, now my DADA partner's twin brother hates me and is convinced that I'm a total bitch just because I flipped out at him _once _and I'm dreading tomorrow because George will try and apologise for him and I'll go and apologise to Fred's face and he'll try to kill me."

"Calm down." Cho soothed, patting her friend on the shoulder. "Those Weasley twins are no good, you know that. In OWLs last year they spent the Charms exam trying to blow up Snape. There's no point wasting valuable brain power over them."

The next morning Selene made her way down to breakfast with a heavy heart. Today she had Potions, with those bloody Gryffindors and then double Defence, again with the Gryffindors, then Charms with the Hufflepuffs and then Transfiguration with the Slytherins. In other words, migraines and aching feet.

"Hello." Luna started to walk alongside her unexpectedly. "Your head is full of Nargles."

"Oh, thanks Luna." She smiled slightly at Luna's mismatched theories. She was one of the few that didn't think Luna was bonkers. Well, the whole world is bonkers, how could the world have people like Fred bloody Weasley in it if it wasn't crazy?

"What's wrong?" Luna was also very perceptive, and practically nothing got past her. If you'd broken up with your boyfriend, she was trying to give you necklaces made out of butterbeer corks and gurdyroot earrings. Fallen out with a friend? She'd be on your back in next to no time.

"Urgh, just Fred Weasley being a git." Selene yawned, and stifled it with the back of her hand. "Nothing new really. You okay?"

"My shoes have mysteriously disappeared again." Luna said dreamily, cocking her head to one side.

"Oh, do you want to borrow some of mine until they turn up?" She asked, glancing down at Luna's blissfully bare feet. "It's not good to go around in bare feet, especially in November."

"No, I'm okay. I've probably got smaller feet anyway." Luna smiled and turned to Selene. "I'm going to feed the Thestrals. Do you want to come?"

Involuntarily shuddering, Selene thought for a second. "No, I'd better not. I've never had much of a way with animals or plants. Have a nice time though Luna."

Luna gave Selene a little wave and walked off down another staircase, leaving Selene alone to her thoughts again. She couldn't really avoid apologising to either of them; it was one of her biggest flaws, her inability to leave someone unhappy for long. The Sorting Hat nearly put her in Hufflepuff, after all. She could apologise to George in DADA, but she didn't really want to go out of her way to apologise to Fred. She'd think of something though, she always did.

Sneaking a couple of slices of toast out of the hall, Selene nibbled on them as she made her way down to the courtyard - where she normally spent her free lesson on a Thursday morning. Taking her book out of her bag, she sat down on an empty bench and proceeded to attempt to change it into an iguana again.

"SELENE!" Fleur yelled, making Selene jump and drop the book on the ground. "What eez ze matter? You look cloudy!"

"It's stormy Fleur." She corrected, rolling her eyes and picking the book off the floor. "And I'm fine, unless you count yesterday as something."

"I 'ave told you, 'at Fred Weezly is _not worth it_!" Fleur flopped down on the bench dramatically.

"I never thought he was." Muttered Selene, stowing her wand in her robe pocket. "I never even spoke to him before yesterday and already he thinks I'm a miniature of my mother. I don't even resemble her _that _much. Father says my looks take after my dear Aunt."

"Ah, you are too _negative_!" Fleur exclaimed, standing up again. "I wish I could stay, but 'e 'ave wand weighing today! I shall see you soon!"

Kissing Selene once on each cheek Fleur sauntered off, heading for the castle. The bell rang, resonating across the grounds, signalling the start of the next lesson.

Swearing lightly under her breath, Selene raced across the courtyard and up the steps. It was bad enough having Snape breath down her neck while she stirred some potion and he hated her enough to give her detention even if she was only a few seconds late. And prefects generally don't get detention, so that'd be the end of her flawless reputation. Well, kind of flawless.

Dodging a few third years, Selene hurtled down the stairs to the dungeons, shivering for a second at the cold damp air that always seemed to linger around the potions rooms. And damn it, it looked like she was late, judging by the lack of loitering Gryffindors outside. Was is some kind of twisted fate that four of her six NEWT subjects she had with the Gryffindors?

"I'm sorry I'm late sir." She gasped, catching her breath for a second and avoiding the curious gazes of her classmates.

Professor Snape glared at her, like he always did. She'd always lacked the kind of quality that made Draco his favourite student, but his obvious contempt for her mercifully never went beyond the odd detention and taking points off Ravenclaw. He was obviously too scared of her father, although her dad had never defended her and got her out of detention once. If that's favouritism towards Draco she didn't know what was.

"Detention, Miss Malfoy. Sit down, or I'll take points off too." His cold gaze furthered this statement and Selene felt herself turning pink as she sat down next to Cho. "Thank you. Now, before Miss Malfoy so rudely interrupted us, we were about to create the Draught of Living Death. This is an intensely tricky potion and it is one," He looked pointedly at the Ravenclaws. "That I do not expect you to get right."

"What the bloody hell happened?" Cho whispered to Selene in an undertone, keeping one eye trained on the potions master. "What happened? You're hardly ever late."

"Fleur." Selene used as an explanation, quickly taking _Advanced Potion Making _out of her bag along with a pen and paper. "Weighing of the wands. Urgh, I don't know, Snape's just incredibly tetchy today. Stop looking at me like I swallowed your hamster."

"I don't own a hamster." Pointed out Cho, blithely passing her notes to her friend. "And shut up before it's a week's detention and twenty points off Ravenclaw."

After they had endured an hour of Snape snarling at her to get better at Potions and stop failing epically, it was time for yet another lesson that would screw her brain up, for very different reasons.

"Selene." George practically jumped on her the moment she sat down in DADA. "I'm so sorry about yesterday; Fred was being a prick he doesn't mean it."

"Calm down, calm down, I'm not going to flip out again. And mentioning that, I'm sorry I went mad. I don't actually think he's a pureblood bigot." Selene held up one finger before continuing, silencing George. "And no, I'm not going to apologise, as I don't think he'd listen to me."

George raised an eyebrow. "He'd listen if I made him."

"Somehow, I don't think he'll _want _to listen to me. Not after I completely flipped out at him in the middle of the bloody Entrance hall. Not after I basically insulted him, whether I meant it or not."

"He's reasonable, he'll listen."

"Okay, I'll apologise to him. But I swear to Godric, if you're wrong I will read out my Arithmancy notes to you until you die of boredom." Selene warned, containing a smile at the look on George's face. "Joke! I promise I won't."

"I was worried for a second!" George complained, but smiling all the same. "And that is the least funny joke I have ever heard, and Fred's told some pretty crap ones."

"I wasn't _that _bad, was it?" She asked, scanning her notes for any mention of what they'd be doing today. "But I digress, I'll apologise after the lesson, if you can keep him from running away that long."

So, two hours of harrowing cramp and blatantly ignoring George's crude jokes about the sexual tension between her and Fred later, she was hanging around outside the classroom, waiting for George to emerge with his twin.

"T minus 3 minutes." She muttered, timing their obviously hurried conversation grimly. "Oh for Godric's sake George, I'm not a robot I need to eat."

Feeling the strangest urge to re-do her hair, Selene raised the proverbial eyebrow at her nervousness. He was only a guy who she'd only spoke to long enough to insult him, let alone exchange more than a basic few blunt words. So why the bloody hell was she worrying about her bloody hair?

"…She's nice, trust me." The door opened and she could hear George speaking. "Actually really lovely, you just pissed her off."

"I don't give a shit about what that tart has to say!" Now it was Fred. "She's as bad as the lot of them in my opinion, her dear father's probably organising a way to get her off Snape's detention as we speak."

They rounded the corner and narrowly avoided bashing right into Selene. She noticed, slightly annoyed at his assumptions, that Fred had at least the grace to blush slightly.

"Hi." She said coolly, keeping her face like a blank sheet of paper. "I wanted to apologise for yesterday. I shouldn't have said that."

"Damn right you shouldn't have." Fred murmured, trying to keep his voice quiet but it somehow seemed to echo along the whole corridor. "Yes, okay, you can go now."

The fuse on Selene's abnormally long temper seemed to light at that second. "Aren't you going to say anything?" She asked, putting a hand on her hip and inwardly cringing at her forwardness.

"No." Fred glared at her and muttered something else under his breath.

"Excuse me? Did you just call me a slag? Well, you should take a good look at yourself Fred Weasley, and maybe, just maybe, you'll get the correct context of that expression." Selene recommended, her eyes widening as her temper started to get the better of her.

"You know I could make your life a living hell?" He scowled, prodding her sharply. "Very easily. I have the entire Gryffindor house on my side."

George looked like he was about to intervene here but Selene jumped the gun. "My life's already a living hell so I can't see how you can make it any worse. And can I just say, _I apologised._ I tried to apologise, anyway. And you know what? I actually meant it."

Swallowing the tears that threatened to spill, Selene turned on her heel and managed to keep from running away from that bloody boy. She could faintly hear George berating his twin about something, but she didn't hang around to find out what. When Marcus Flint had downed her in candyfloss, she'd ran and to be honest, you can only commit social suicide once. It was only when she'd reached Ravenclaw Tower that she started to see the funny side.

Thinking about it, she'd committed social suicide too many times to draw an accurate conclusion. The only reason she was still allowed in post-Quidditch match parties was because she was the chaser.

She was so consumed in her thoughts, she didn't notice Professor Dumbledore walking down the corridor towards her.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Professor!" Selene exclaimed, blushing at her awkward clumsiness. "I wasn't looking where I was going! Are you okay?"

"I'm quite alright thank you Miss Malfoy. May I ask why you aren't in the hall?" Professor Dumbledore asked, a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"I, well, was talking to someone." She generalised, not willing to go over every miniscule detail. "They weren't very happy with me."

"May I ask who it was?" Dumbledore inquired, smiling down at the Ravenclaw prefect.

"Fred Weasley." She admitted, feeling her face flush up again. How many times did she blush in a day?

"Curious, curious indeed." Dumbledore tapped his chin thoughtfully, a smile spreading over his face. "I thought as much… anyway. Do have a nice day my dear."

And with that, he was walking off down the hallway, leaving Selene standing in the middle of the room wondering what the bloody hell just happened.

"Okay…" She shrugged off and continued walking down the corridor. Before she could reach the staircase however, a door opened a few feet ahead of her and several people walked out; judging by their expressions they were the Triwizard champions.

"Selene!" Fleur exclaimed, drawing more attention to the said individual. "'Ello! I assumed you would be een ze hall! 'Arry, you know Selene, no?"

Harry appeared from the room, a strange look on his face. Selene could see from his expression that he recognised her but bless him he didn't point it out.

"I know her brother." He corrected, actually _smiling _at Selene. What was this? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth etc. etc.? "You're friends with Cho, right?"

"Yeah." Harry was very transparent when it came to Cho. Anyone could see that he blatantly fancied her. "Hi Cedric." She greeted the Hufflepuff warmly as he emerged.

"Hi Selene." He reciprocated with a small smile. "Is Cho down in the hall?"

"I think so." She thought aloud but Cedric was already halfway down the corridor. "Oh well. Um, yeah.' She suddenly felt rather awkward being in front of he brother's worst enemy. Rowena only knows how many times she had to listen to Draco whining about him last summer. "I'll see you soon Harry. I'll tell Cho you said hi, okay?"

Harry blushed furiously and hid his face from view. "'K." He muttered, walking back down the way Selene had came. "Bye Fleur, Selene."

"Bye 'Arry!" Fleur answered for both of them, giving him a little wave as he walked away. "Wait until I tell you zees Selene! Eet was so _interessant, non?_"

**Hello again my Harry Potter friends!**

**Enjoying the rain? I'm not, it's bipolar weather over in good ol' England and the Midlands (where I live) and it's not fun AT ALL!**

**I've filled a page with made up curse words and expressions I think wizards and witches would use (eg. Oh my Godric, Holy Rowena, In Salazar's name) so I don't have to scour my brain at random times to find them. Hop you like the ones I included, I will still be using normal ones but I wanted to be creative so geez. Sue me. Actually don't I'm broke.**

**I'm officially going to Germany soon too! (0:00 4****th**** July GMT) So I'm hyperactive and trying to forget about my exams.**

**Anyway, enough about me, over to you! What did you think about this chapter? I loved it, but I digress, you are my audience, REVIEW!**

**Eleanor xxx**

**P.S. I still need drawings of my OCs done; I've tried out drawing a scene set in January that includes Selene and Fred but it's slow work and isn't great. Please help me! I'll love you forever (No, actually that's a bit weird, I'll just owe you so much and give you millions of shout outs and publicity). I would get my friends at school to help me but they all think I'm strange enough even without the FanFiction. Anyway, PLEASE! I can't stress how much help I need!**


	12. Chapter 11: Potter Doesn't Stink

**Hello again!**

**Thank you so much to Kacey again, I'm so sorry you're ill but as far as I know that isn't lethal so I'm not too worried. Oh, and I'm glad you liked your virtual cookies, they might have been a little burnt. And you got the Fred point spot on, well done for that. Don't worry about the drawings, I'm sure someone'll help me. And to .129, I hope my PM sorted that question out for you. If you have any more don't hesitate to contact me again.**

**Weasley Twins: SHE DOESN'T OWN US!**

**Me: Where the hell did you two come from?**

**George: We've been behind you all this time.**

**Fred: You know that, right?**

**Okay… anyway, here's chapter 11!**

* * *

"I don't love anybody, that stuff is just a waste of time." - Frog Princess by The Divine Comedy

* * *

Chapter 11: Potter Doesn't Stink

Harry Potter was annoyed.

Pretty much the entirety of Hogwarts, minus the Gryffindors, were wearing huge, obnoxious badges. It'd be okay if they were just for S.P.E.W., but no. Malfoy, not intent with making Potions shit, had now made a load of badges that insulted him.

_Support CEDRIC DIGGORY-_

_ The REAL Hogwarts Champion!_

"Like them, Potter?" Malfoy said loudly in the Entrance hall a couple of days before the first task. "That's not all they do, think that's boring?"

He pressed the badge smartly and instantly the red text turned to green and the words _Potter Stinks _emerged on the badge. The Slytherins all laughed ungainly, pushing past Harry as they made their way down to the Dungeons.

"Ignore them." Hermione advised, watching the backs of Crabbe and Goyle descend down the stairs. "Everyone knows you're a real champion, and that Malfoy's just messing with yo-"

"OI! Granger!" Pansy Parkinson yelled across the hall. "Seen Witch Weekly? They seem to think you're stunningly pretty! What were they looking at, a troll?"

"So witty, Parkinson." Hermione said sarcastically. "So clever."

"Come on 'Mione, we need to get to Hogsmede." Harry interjected. "Seriously, before Ron gets here. I don't want to have to see him unless I have to." He said bitterly, remembering the fight he'd had with his best friend. "Don't you dare say I should talk to him, because I don't want to."

Hermione obeyed this rule but grumbled slightly under her breath. They set off in the direction of Hogsmede, ignoring the many wolf-whistles and furtive glances that were sent their way.

"Hip hip hello!" Lily screamed into their ears. "How are you today? Would you like me to take an axe to Rita Skeeter for you Hermione? Come on, I need permission…" She whined, an evil glint in her green eyes.

"It's okay Lily." Hermione groaned at the strange conversation they were being forced to have with their pyromaniac friend. "Do you want to come into Hogsmede with us?"

"Nah, I'm meeting my sister." Lily drawled, yawning slightly. "Mother seems to think I need authority, not that Dora's any good with that."

Neither Harry or Hermione had met Lily's elder sister, but from what Lily had told them she was an Auror, had been friends with Charlie Weasley in the past and was amazingly clumsy. She also adored her younger sister, but had been known to fear for Lily's sanity quite a few times.

"Okay, have a nice time then!" Hermione waved to her as Lily started down the road, humming a snatch of some weird muggle tune as she went. "Don't look at me like that!" She asked, glancing at Harry. "She can be good fun, and she would've massacred anyone who so much as looked at us."

"She's good fun if you like feeding Slytherins to Hippogriffs." Harry muttered, shoving his hands in his robe pockets. "Or if you like hacking random doors to pieces because "The Magic Fairy Told Me To"."

"I don't think she actually fed Slytherins to Hippogriffs." Hermione mused as Hogsmede appeared.

"Yeah? So why did Blaise get stuck in the hospital wing for three days with a huge bite mark on his arse?" Harry kicked an unoffending tree branch to vent his anger and turned to Hermione. "Never mind. Do you want to go to the Three Broomsticks? It has to be warmer in there than out here."

"Sure." Hermione agreed, holding open the door to said place and breathing in the warm air. "Yup you're definitely onto something Harry."

They took a seat near the back of the pub, Hermione going up to the bar to order them both a Butterbeer. Harry spotted Cho Chang, surrounded by her friends and noticed, his heart gave a sudden leap, that she wasn't wearing a badge.

Selene turned round from the gossiping group and shot a smile at Harry, rolling her eyes and twirling a delicate finger around her left ear subtly. She wasn't wearing a badge either, but an S.P.E.W. one was in its place. Hers was bright orange, and the shade hurt Harry's eyes slightly. Nevertheless, he gave her a friendly smile in return and tried to look sympathetic.

"Two Butterbeers!" Hermione exclaimed, slopping froth slightly over the table. "What _are _you looking at?"

"Oh, just saying hi to Selene." Harry shrugged off, averting his eyes from Cho's black hair.

"I told you she wasn't bad, didn't I?" Hermione reminded, sipping her Butterbeer complacently. "Oh! That reminds me! I need to ask her about S.P.E.W.!"

Taking a notebook with the offending letters stamped on top out of her bag, Hermione got up again and walked over to the table that was filled with Ravenclaw girls. She returned a couple of seconds later with Selene in tow and a slightly put-out Cho and co. in the background.

"Hi Harry." Selene smiled again, taking a chair offered by Hermione. "Are you in S.P.E.W. too?"

"Yeah." Harry said non-committedly. "Why are you in it, again?"

"Well, my family had a house-elf once." She hazarded. "One of the only decent people to talk to around the Manor. Helped me out quite a few times too, I owe him a lot."

"Dobby?" Harry asked, before facepalming himself. Of course it was Dobby, Malfoy's house elf was hers too. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Hope you didn't mind me setting him free."

"Not at all." Selene reassured. "I would've done it myself if… never mind. It doesn't matter now anyway. Hermione, what did you want to go over?"

The two of them talked S.P.E.W. for a while, but Harry couldn't keep up with their intensely technical conversation for long. Now he thought about it, the two were very alike, although Selene was much less bossy and overbearing.

To his amusement, even they got tired of debating elf rights after a while and started to talk about muggle music, although how a pure-blood witch knew about bands like Oasis and Nirvana he had no idea. Just one more mystery to add to the already extensive list.

"Alright Harry, Hermione?" One of the twins walked up to the table. "Who're you talking to 'Mione?"

Selene looked up from the heated argument and glared at the twin sharply. "Didn't think you'd be here." She said coolly, taking Harry aback. He'd never seen her like this before.

"Well, after you called me a pure-blood bigot and a slag I decided to come and kill you." Either Fred or George said sarcastically. "I don't want to talk to a Malfoy, love, so do us a favour and fuck off."

"One, you called me a pure-blood bigot first. Two, I didn't technically call you slag but you did. Three, I was talking to Hermione. So sorry, but I don't answer to gits."

Harry chuckled slightly at this despite himself, but quickly stifled it at the furious look on the twin's face. "Um, George?" He tried.

"It's _Fred_." Selene muttered, venom in her voice. "Although he also answers to dickhead and judging idiot. If George were here, he wouldn't be trying to pin a label on me."

"I couldn't pin a label on you even if I wanted to love." Fred scowled. "I ran out of safety pins. I thought you of all people would be wearing a "Support Cedric Diggory" badge. No, but it seems someone's puked on you."

Selene stood up, clenching her fist. "There's a reason you're not in Ravenclaw Fred, and it's because you're dumb." She poked him in the chest, making him double over in exaggerated pain. "No wonder you only got three OWLs, and to be honest I don't understand how you got those. George I can understand, because he didn't judge me the moment he saw me. Want a life Fred? Because you sure as hell don't have one at the moment."

With a parting glare and a rude hand gesture, Fred stalked off to wherever he was before. Selene slumped down in her chair, wiping her cheek quickly.

"What was that about?" Hermione asked, looking at Selene askance. "I've never heard so many swear words come out of his mouth."

"He hates me." Selene said matter-of-factly. "George is nice to me though, which is why I can't understand Fred. I mean," She took a deep breath. "You should've seen him last week. I tried to apologise for calling him a bigot and he called me a slag. I meant that apology, I really did. The Sorting Hat was toying with Hufflepuff for a while anyway."

In an attempt to get her to forget the interruption, Harry was hit with a sudden idea. "Where did the Sorting Hat try to put you?" He asked, catching Hermione's eye knowingly.

Selene started slightly but smiled. "Well, it said it was Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or even Gryffindor. Seriously, me in Gryffindor? It's never work. I'm not brave. Once it realise that it want between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, eventually deciding that my intelligence would be of greater importance than my kindness. It did say something funny though."

"What?" Hermione inquired, intrigued despite herself.

"It said, it said that I would succeed at something as long as I wasn't in Slytherin. I don't know what is was, but when I asked the hat laughed and just said that I'd find out when the time was right. What the hell does that mean?" Selene asked helplessly, rolling her eyes. "That's the only riddle I can't puzzle out."

She stood up and smiled gratefully at Hermione. "I'll get back to you about that. I'm sorry you had to hear that argument, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. See you later Hermione. Nice to see you again Harry."

Selene's P.O.V.

Selene walked back over to where Cho and her other friends were sitting, nattering about something uninteresting. Forcing down the urge to go punch Fred Weasley in his stupid face, she took her earlier vacated seat and tried to restore some type of normality to her erroneous life.

"What were you talking about with Fred Selene?" Marietta giggled, exchanging a sideways glance with Cho. "It looked pretty heated."

The whole table was swamped in girlish giggles after this, and Selene rolled her eyes. "Guys, I had a very short conversation with him that included about twenty assorted swear words and a sudden urge to whack him. Calm down."

"Then why was he red as a cherry when he walked away?" Asked Cho, nodding over to where the twins were discussing something.

"I may have insulted him in front of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger." Selene could feel her face colouring at the memory of their weird exchange. "Although he wasn't blushing where I could see so you might be mistaken Cho."

"He _totally _fancies you!" Marietta squealed, echoed by the gaggle of girls around her. "He looked _totally _embarrassed at talking to you, he _totally _fancies you!"

Snorting, Selene took a hazardous glance towards the table the twins were occupying. "When hell freezes over Marietta. When my brother marries a Muggle, that's when Fred Weasley will fancy me. Aka never in a million years."

"Has your brother noticed…" Cho gestured to Selene's S.P.E.W. badge distastefully. "Yet?"

"Yes, but what can he do about it? Tell Dad?" Selene wondered aloud, tapping her fingers onto the old oak table. "Dad'll just send a Howler or something, and I always make the precaution of silencing them before reading them. It's a _good cause _Cho." Selene noted her friend's disgusted expression. "Remember Dobby?"

Everyone just stared at their crazy friend, wondering why the hell was she friends with the cool Ravenclaws.

"Never mind." Selene muttered, resuming her tapping rhythm and trying to forget about Fred Weasley. "I need to go to the bookshop. Cho, Marietta, are you guys going to come with me?"

"Nah." Marietta exhaled. "Too cold, and that bookshop gives me the creeps. How you spent over four hours in there in third year I have no idea."

"I hadn't been to an English bookshop in years Marietta, cut thirteen year old me some slack." Selene asked, pulling her coat and scarf on over her clothes. "I'll see you guys at dinner."

Walking across the room, Selene risked glancing at the table where Fred and George were sat. They were poring over a piece of parchment, murmuring under their breath. Struck with a sudden idea, Selene pointed her wand at Fred and thought 'Colouras Changas'. As Fred's hair turned a bright, brilliant shade of Ravenclaw blue, George looked up and burst into laughter. Selene grinned, pocketed her wand again and waved goodbye to Harry and Hermione, who were both laughing too.

"Selene Malfoy: 1, Fred Weasley: Nil." She said triumphantly, opening the door and walking outside into the bitter cold. The best part was; no one but her knew the counter-enchantment.

The bookshop smelt of mothballs, like it always did, but it was a comforting smell that vaguely reminded Selene of the library in Malfoy Manor. Try as she might, she never called it 'home'.

Running her slim fingers over the embossed letters on the spines of the books, Selene breathed in that quintessential 'new book smell'. The owner of the establishment looked up from The Daily Prophet, but in recognising her he muttered a 'hello' and went back to reading an article about goblin mucus.

"Hi." Selene returned. She almost always came here on Hogsmede weekends, except for a noted occasion when Cho had dragged her to Madam Puddifoot's to spy on Marietta and Marcus Flint. They never got much business here, due to the store being right at the end of the main street but occasionally McGonagall or Professor Flitwick would nip in to get a book on Charms or Transfiguration or whatever.

She didn't hear the door opening and shutting behind her, too engrossed in _One Million Ways To Annoy People._ Sometimes the reading material in here was a little strange but on the whole it was amazing.

"Why did the Weasel think we'd find her here?" Her brother's voice drifted between the shelves, uprooting her from the novel. Sighing slightly, Selene replaced the book and waited for Draco to appear. "A Malfoy wouldn't be seen dead in a shop like _this._" He said this last word with distaste, like it tasted bad.

"Come on, we'll never find her." Zabini. Damn no, he was always badgering her to date him or whatever. Anyone but him. "Let's go."

"No, she's here." Selene could almost hear Draco's lip curling as he spoke. "Selene? Selene?"

"Hi Draco." She walked out from between the high bookshelves, weaving her way past a teetering pile of books. "What's the matter?"

"Hello." Zabini spoke first, a sickly sweet smile on his face as he looked at Selene. "You're looking lovely today, may I say. Are you sure you won't date me?"

"Shut up Blaise." Draco snapped. "Selene, mother wanted to ask you some questions. Namely, why did Professor Snape place in detention and why did you not inform her?"

"I'll write." Selene ran a hand through her hair slowly, avoiding the rapturous gaze of Zabini. "Please stop looking at me like that. For the last time, no I won't go out with you. Who told you I was here Draco?"

"Oh, just Weasel one." Dismissed Draco. "I tell you what though, Weasel two's hair was extraordinarily blue today. Told you it was fun baiting Gryffindors."

"Fred's a dick, his brothers are really nice actually." Selene glared at Zabini, making him gulp visibly. "He'll have to come to me for the counter-enchantment, it's a spell I made up myself. Now can you leave me in peace?"

Grumbling, the two Slytherins wandered out again, closing the door. Selene lingered just for another few minutes, long enough to buy a book on Animagi.

The weather hadn't improved, and Selene wrapped her coat more tightly around her to try and shut out the bitterly cold air. It was only the middle of November for Helga's sake, it should at least be still vaguely warm, not cold enough to freeze the hind legs off a Hippogriff.

"Malfoy." Someone yelled through the sleet, disturbing her thoughts. "What the Godric did you do to my hair?"

"You'll have to ask nicer than that Weasley." Selene called back, tightening her scarf around her neck. "It's a personal spell of mine, doesn't come out unless you say 'please'."

"Bitch." Fred muttered, but he crossed the road. "Come on, counter spell me."

"I told you, you'll have to be nicer than that." Selene reminded, walking back in the direction of the castle. "Or your hair'll be like that for the next few years."

"You wouldn't." Fred said, aghast. "I can't walk around being a walking Ravenclaw supporter for the rest of my life!"

"Then say 'please'." Insisted Selene, deliberately taking a turn that'd take them past a whole lot of people. "Or your hair will be blue until the day you die, which hopefully will be soon."

Snickers started to erupt from all around them. They had reached the Hogwarts students. Fred started to panic; patting and smoothing his hair madly, as if touching your head would make the spell disappear.

"For Rowena's sake Malfoy, counter-enchant me now." Fred gritted his teeth and attempted to shrug off the colour of his hair as people started to full-out laugh.

"Planning to move to Ravenclaw Mr Weasley?" Professor Flitwick chuckled. "20 points to Ravenclaw Miss Malfoy, for excellent spell creation."

"Please." Fred blurted, practically praying that no one he worried about heard that. "Please, Selena or whatever the fuck your name is."

"Well done!" Selene said sarcastically, clapping her hands once and taking her wand out of her pocket. Fred's hair turned back to its normal red, and he raised an eyebrow as Selene re-pocketed her wand.

"Non-verbally?" Fred asked incredulously. "God, you really are a geek Malfoy."

"I try." Selene laughed inwardly. Two nil to her.

**Wow.**

**That had a lot of arguing, but I really wanted to use the hair colour idea. Next chapter will be the first task, which includes dragons, conversations and weirdness.**

**Please read and review, and remember that I need help on the drawing front still. If any of you guys out there have friends that's help, enlist them! Please!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	13. Chapter 12: The First Task

**Chapter 12 already?**

**Wow, time does fly; it's already the first task! Thanks to Kacey again, yes, I loved the hair colour idea personally, I wanted it to be green but it made more sense for her to turn it Ravenclaw blue instead. And I'm glad you like Lily. Also, maxie210, my backspace key breaks a lot too, I hammer the keyboard so hard sometimes! I'm glad you love my story. gingerduchirules, that's the general idea, thanks for liking the start as much as I did.**

**And, I don't own Harry Potter, however much I ask my mum to buy it for me. I do own Lily, Selene and Leanne though.**

* * *

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away." - Beautiful Day by U2

* * *

Chapter 12: The First Task

Dragons.

That's the first thing Harry Potter thought on the morning of the 22nd November. Dragons, shortly flowed by a long string of swear words and wondering slightly why he was on the floor.

The answer? He'd fallen out of bed.

"Ow…" Rubbing his head, Harry sat up and groped for his glasses that were no doubt somewhere on his bedside table. Ron was still asleep, but snuffled slightly and turned over, cracking open his eyes a little and groaning as he remembered his obligation to show up today.

"Food…" He mumbled, and Harry restrained a laugh, remembering the fight they still upheld.

The common room was mercifully empty except for Lily, who was reading some type of zombie novel while attempting to complete her Potions essay. Looking up when Harry entered, she rolled her eyes and went back to haphazardly noting down the hundred uses of dragons blood. She was never much of a morning person, and he'd been informed by Katie Bell, who was a friend of Lily's, that she'd rip your throat out if you woke her before eight.

"Morning." She muttered, yawning. "Good luck today."

"Thanks Lily." Harry said gratefully, continuing on to the portrait hole. The corridor outside Gryffindor tower was also empty, but Harry wasn't taking any chances and hurried down the stairs before anyone could jump on him.

"Harry!" Hermione called, rushing across the Entrance hall. "I'm sorry, I was just in the library, checking up on some context for Professor McGonagall's essay. Are you okay? Did you sleep well, are you-"

"I'm fine 'Mione." Harry complained, sitting down at the table, ignoring the curious glances of the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. Apparently, the Ravenclaws were trying not to take sides but evidently the majority of them supported Cedric.

"Eat Harry, you need to eat." Hermione pressed, shovelling huge amounts of bacon and egg onto his empty plate. "You'll need all of your strength for the task. Dragon's aren't the easiest opponents after all."

"Ok." Harry muttered, but he begrudgingly ate some bacon. "I am eating 'Mione." He continued, after swallowing.

"OI!" Pansy Parkinson was yelling at them again. "Having a nice time with your boyfriend Granger?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Harry got ahead of Hermione this time.

"Yeah, right." The Slytherin girl drawled, sounding rather like Malfoy. "And I'm a Hufflepuff."

"Why are you sitting over there then Parkinson? Shouldn't you be over on the Hufflepuff table then?" Neither of them had noticed Lily walking into the hall. "Wow, I always thought you were dumb but this is just off the scale."

Glancing around to check that no teachers were watching, Lily stuck her middle finger up at Pansy, winking at Harry as she did. "Au revoir, mes amigos." She waved at Harry and Hermione before grabbing a few waffles and stalking back out of the hall, budging past a few Slytherin first years.

"Why isn't she in Slytherin?" Hermione wondered aloud, and not for the first time too. "She has all their traits, down to the ground."

"I think it's because she as a muggle-born father." Harry pondered. "That or because she's a blood-traitor."

That steered the conversation away from Harry's dietary habits for a while, and when they emerged out the other end it was almost ten o'clock. Much to Hermione's annoyance, Harry had only managed a few mouthfuls of breakfast and subsequently felt rather lethargic as they walked down towards the makeshift stadium that had been set up overnight.

"Good, you're here now Mr Potter." Professor McGonagall stood at the entrance to the stands, directing various students to their allocated stands. "Just into that stripy tent you can see. You can go with him Miss Granger; I understand Mr Diggory has plenty of friends in there already, Oh, and Mr Potter?" She added. "Good luck."

They walked towards the tent, Harry having the strange sensation that he was walking on clouds. His stomach felt like a thousand butterflies had randomly decided to spawn in there, like some sick Minecraft prank.

Taking a deep breath, Harry pushed back the thick tarpaulin walls of the tent.

"AH! Mr Potter!" Ludo Bagman rushed forward. "Now we're all ready to get going!"

Harry looked around the interior of the tent. Over in one corner was Krum, looking very surly and glowering at everyone who came too close to him. Fleur was in another, with Selene no less, and from what Harry could overhear Selene had been giving Fleur some help in defensive spells. Cedric Diggory was in the other corner, surrounded by his Hufflepuff friends who were all delightedly clapping him on the back and giving him words of encouragement.

"Harry, remember what I told you. The summoning charm needs _meaning_." Hermione reminded. "I'd better get going. All of them-" She gestured to Cedric's friends. "-are going now too. See you later."

As Hermione walked off, Harry was too preoccupied with worrying to hear a quiet voice greet him at first.

"Oh! Sorry Selene." Harry jumped about three feet into the air after hearing someone that wasn't Hermione talk to him.

"That's okay." To her credit, it didn't look like it'd bothered her much at all. "I just wanted to say good luck. I know Hermione's been helping you so I guess you have a lot more chance of winning than Cedric does."

"I'll have to tell her you said that." Harry grinned. "But from what I've heard you're not bad yourself."

Selene rolled her eyes, but not really in anger or annoyance. "Eurgh. Everyone thinks that, but I'm nothing special. It just kind of clicks with me." She snapped her fingers to illustrate the point. "If you want someone to gush over my abilities then ask Professor Flitwick. He's even gone so far as to try and secure me as the next Charms teacher here."

"Wouldn't you like to, you know, teach here?" Asked Harry curiously.

"I'm not really sure what I want to do with my life really. I've got a year and a half and I can always go work in Diagon Alley or something. Dad wants me to join the Ministry, but to be honest Fudge had always got on my nerves." Selene shrugged slightly, before smiling again. "Anyway, good luck."

She disappeared out of the tent flap, leaving a tent full of four nervous people and an over-excited ex-beater.

"Great! Shall we get started then?" Bagman asked, but didn't wait for an answer. Picking a bag up off a nearby table, he gave it a shake and it rattled slightly. "Your first task will be dragons. Isn't that exciting?"

Judging by the nonchalant looks on everyone's faces, Harry and Cedric hadn't been the only ones who were tipped off. Krum just stood there, looking moody, Fleur yawned and Cedric shifted from foot to foot, glancing at Harry quickly.

"Ladies first! Miss Delacour, if you please." Bagman brandished the little bag under Fleur's nose. Fleur exhaled, before dipping her hand in and drawing out a miniature model of a dragon.

It was a common Welsh green, Harry remembered that much from Hermione's revision sessions, and around it's neck was a silver number 1. She would be first.

"Excellent. Mr Krum…" Bagman prompted, as Krum withdrew a small yellow dragon. A Swedish short-snout, if memory served correctly. Krum was going third.

Cedric didn't need to be asked, and instead valiantly fished in the bag, eventually withdrawing a black dragon that was definitely the Chinese Fireball. So that only left…

"The Hungarian Horntail." Bagman said, as Harry stared in fascination down at the little dragon that was looking up at him with a curious expression. "You'll be last Mr Potter. Now we all know our order, I must go."

Selene's P.O.V.

Selene hurried up the steps to the 'Cedric' section of the stands, refraining from tripping over for once. Plonking herself down in the seat Cho had saved for her, she stretched out her long legs, leaning back in her seat slightly.

"How's Cedric?" Gushed Cho from next to her. "Is he nervous? Do you know what the task is?"

"I don't know Cho I didn't talk to him." Selene dismissed, sitting up straighter. "He was too busy being fawned over by his 'friends'."

"Oh." Cho's face fell and she anxiously looked out over the pitch. "Did he _look _okay though? He didn't faint? I knew I should've gone down to wish him luck."

"I'm sure he's fine." Selene reassured. In her mind, she was deciding on the best course of action. "Although he'll have to do without an extra supporter for today, I'm supporting Harry."

Silence fell in the vicinity directly surrounding Selene. Cho was looking at her aghast, Marietta had dropped her lipstick. Terry Boot, a Ravenclaw boy in her brother's year simply stood and stared at the outspoken girl.

"What? Oh Rowena, you're all supporting Cedric aren't you." If this was a cartoon, Selene thought, everyone would have been on the floor by now. "Really? We did say we weren't going to take sides." When no one answered, Selene shrugged and went back to tapping. "He has enough supporters anyway."

"You'd better go sit with your Gryffindor friends then." Someone said from behind her. "Do you have any friends in Gryffindor?"

"You're right." Selene stood up and squeezed past the hoards of people sitting down. "I'd better go. Does anyone know where Hermione Granger is? I'll see you lot at dinner."

Shaking her head slightly, Selene pushed her way into the place where all the Harry fans were sitting, which was considerably less full than back over the Cedric area, due to the fact that only one house had turned out to support him.

"Um, Hermione?" Selene noticed her friend sitting next to Parvati. "Can I sit there?" She gestured to the empty seat on the other side of Hermione.

Jumping slightly, Hermione looked around and spotted her. "Oh, Selene! Sure, but I thought you were supporting Cedric?"

Selene bit her lip and sat down, feeling slightly awkward. "No, he has way too many supporters already. We weren't going to take sides, but Cho wanted to support her boyfriend and everyone always follows her."

"That's nice." Parvati spoke unexpectedly. "I think my sister's told me about you. You play chaser, am I right?"

"Yep." Selene was slightly taken aback at the fact that someone noticed her on the Quidditch pitch. "I've been reserve for a few years though."

"You play Quidditch?" Hermione gaped, before composing herself. "I'm sorry, I just can't really visualise you on a broom."

Smiling wryly, Selene confided a piece of information not many knew. "I think father bought me onto the team. I wasn't great when I started but I've improved a lot. I'm afraid of heights, see?"

"What did he do, buy the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch team new brooms or something?" Hermione asked, as Krum walked into the stadium to rapturous applause.

"No, he already did that with the Slytherin team. He put a good word in for the father of the captain at the time, Dad has lots of friends in high places."

"Wow." Gasped Parvati. "Is your whole family like that, rich with time to waste?"

"Unfortunately yes." Selene admitted, watching Krum out of the corner of her eye. "Although it's mostly my father's family, you know Lily? Her mother is my aunt, although I haven't seen Dromeda since I was tiny. My mother and her don't get on."

"So, you're Lily's cousin?" Hermione looked behind her searching for Lily in the crowd behind her. "You two don't really look alike."

"As I've been told, I resemble my mother, and she was always the 'pretty one' of the Black family."

Their conversation was interrupted by two people sitting down behind them. "Greetings Hermione, Parvati." Fred Weasley said, yawning slightly. "Who's the cute girl?"

Selene choked suddenly, trying to comprehend what Fred had just said. He had obviously not recognised her, which was a feat in itself. "You know, you look better with blue hair." She reciprocated, turning around in her seat to smile sarcastically at him. "Never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth Weasley."

George burst into laughter after realising that Fred had called his worst enemy cute. "The look on your face!" He gasped for air, before descending into helpless hysteria. "You… called… a Malfoy… cute…!"

The look on Fred's face darkened instantly, as he recognised Selene. "Malfoy." He said coldly, ignoring his twin's laughter. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to support Harry." Selene explained, turning back around to watch Krum's attempt. "Have a problem with that?"

"Yeah. We don't want slimy Malfoy's here, go buzz off with your little 'friends'. Don't know how you can call them friends though when they've only been brought through your family's bigoted money." Fred grimaced.

For once George seemed lost for words. "What the actual hell Fred?" George asked, looking at his twin in annoyance. "I've told you time and time again, give the poor girl a chance. If she wants to support Harry, she can." He shot Selene a grateful smile. "And we've discussed her family."

"Whatever." Muttered Fred, glaring at Selene. "Doesn't mean I want her to be here."

"You know what?" Selene stood up, ignoring Hermione's protests. "I don't want you to be here. What is your problem with me? I apologised, I really did. And you bloody ignored me. So why do you find the need to torment me constantly when you know I'm not like my dear brother because my brother wouldn't be friends with a muggle-born!"

Selene looked guiltily at Hermione, feeling ashamed that she had to use Hermione's blood status to prove a point. "Sorry Hermione."

Fred stood up, revealing that even at 5'8", Selene was only up to his shoulder. "Everyone knows you have no _real _friends. How else could you be friends with one of the most popular girls in the school and a bloody _part Veela _if your parents didn't buy their friendship? You're a socially talentless reject Malfoy, and I don't understand how Ravenclaw can put up with disgusting scum like you."

Her anger bubbling, George attempted to restrain Selene but before her could Selene had pulled out her wand and yelled "Avis!" Shortly followed by "Oppugno!"

Fred was attacked on all sides by strange little violet-coloured birds; that kept nipping and annoying him constantly. George descended into laughter again while Hermione couldn't help but clap at the excellent use of the charm.

When the birds had started to disappear, Fred grasped his wand and yelled "Furnunculus!"

Selene blocked this with a shield charm, and thought "Petrificus Totalus!"

Caught totally off guard, Fred fell backwards, his whole body frozen. George managed to catch him as Professor McGonagall walked over.

"Miss Malfoy! I am very ashamed of you! A Prefect, attacking another student! That'll be twenty points from Ravenclaw and a detention this evening. You too Mr Weasley!" She gestured to where Fred was looking very annoyed, lying on his back on the floor unable to do anything but glare. "Please revive him Miss Malfoy."

Thinking the counter-curse, Fred suddenly relaxed, staring daggers at Selene. Professor McGonagall looked pleasantly surprised at this and Hermione thought that the corners of her mouth twitched. "Twenty points from Gryffindor. Although, I must say that your accuracy and performance is astounding Miss Malfoy."

As McGonagall walked away, Fred turned to his twin. "I can't believe it, she attacks me, and we both lose points and gain detentions. She even got a compliment for _attacking me!_"

"Calm down mate, calm down." George patted his twin on the shoulder. "It's only one detention, I'm sure you can survive…"

**Famous Last Words!**

**Well, I'm sorry to say I might not update for a while. I'm going to the Hay Festival tomorrow and then I'm off to my grandparents etc. etc. The next chapter will be the joint detention, and a little bit of madness!**

**I've invented a very creative detention Fred and Selene will have to share, and a very important fact about Selene will be revealed. **

**So, don't kill me if the next chapter isn't up till next week, but if so I promise that the next chapter will kick everything off. If you hadn't gathered from this chapter that Fred's problem with Selene might run deeper than just a name, then you must be blind, or I didn't write it well enough. **

**I really want to get on to the Yule Ball, so there might be a slight time jump in the next few chapters. I've already worked out who Selene goes with so if anyone can guess I'll give them a shout out. Any ideas for the ball? Review and tell me; or PM me if you're lazy. I'm not Iron Man after all, I need help and songs! **

**Remember that I still need drawings! Review, please!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	14. Chapter 13: Please Don't Eat My Fingers

**Hello!**

**I'm sorry I've been A.W.O.L. for so long; I afraid real life does that to me! Thanks to Kacey; yay! Someone loves my chapters! I hope this is good enough as I promised. To maxie210, that point shall come up in the future, but it doesn't quite fit with this chapter unfortunately. .129; so do I but I promise that he's got more reasons to hate her than just her name.**

**I don't own Harry Potter!**

**Edited: as of 20/11/14**

* * *

"I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do, about you now." - Wonderwall by Oasis

* * *

Chapter 13: Please Don't Eat My Fingers

Cho Chang wasn't in the Ravenclaw common room. She wasn't in the dormitory she shared with Selene and Marietta. She wasn't in the Great hall, wasn't outside, wasn't in the Entrance hall…

"Oh, in Helga's name Cho where the bloody hell are you?" Selene Malfoy swore lightly under her breath. "I have fifty-seven minutes and three seconds until I have to be Professor McGonagall's office, with Fred Weasley of all people. So please, be accessible."

Shouldering her extremely heavy bag, due to the amazing amount of books needed for Arithmancy, Selene smiled kindly at some second years who were looking at her like she had the Black Death. She had an unfortunate habit of muttering under her breath within earshot of people who could easily be forever scarred by her impatient musings. Luckily, Crabbe was out of therapy now.

"Selene." A cold voice called from behind her, making her whip around, almost whacking one of the unoffending second years. Hastily apologising, Selene shifted her bag onto her other arm and faced the speaker.

"Oh, hi Draco." Selene bit her lip. Awkward silences were more common between them now. Over the past four years, their relationship had started to crumble like cookies, and now even their shared summer holidays had the vague undertone of mistrust. They had good reason though.

"Mother wanted to ask you why you haven't contacted her yet." A simple sentence, so easily said, but the intonation of those different words strung together could be interpreted in so many different ways. It could be an accident, a mistake, a problem, a forgotten memory. Life isn't ever that simple for Selene though.

"Draco, please, can we have a conversation that doesn't include mother, or father, or our family? How are you? Is Pansy still stalking you? How is Qudditch coming along? Drake, just let me in." Selene pleaded, his old pet name slipping off her tongue.

Although his exterior was still frigid and stone-like, something a little like calmness passed over his face. Draco visibly relaxed, morphing into the person he was, rather than just the spoilt, cocky, snobbish boy.

"'Lene, I'm fine. Stop worrying about me." Draco protested, but his mouth twitched with the beginnings of a smile. Here, away from Crabbe, and Goyle, and Zabini, he was just plain old Draco Malfoy. "And Quidditch is crap, we can't even get out for practices anymore."

"Don't let father hear you say things like that." Teased Selene, grinning. "Not after…"

And just like that, their carefree, open mood was gone, evaporated like mere water. That memory weighed on Selene like a boulder, crushing her beneath it's weight. Her brother tensed again, forgetting everything good about their relationship and focusing on the bad. The smile was swept off his face, and he nodded curtly to his older sister. "I would advise writing to mother." He recommended, striding off without a backwards glance.

She just stood there, in the middle of the corridor, fighting back the tears that shouldn't, couldn't fall. Rule number three: Malfoy's don't cry. Rule five: Malfoy's don't make a scene in public. Tears were for shedding privately, away from the general population, and scenes were for the empty halls of the Manor.

"Hollow laughter in marble halls." Selene murmured, finding the scrap of courage that she possessed. It was only about the size of a tissue, barely enough to face her family again. She was dreading Christmas.

Flooded in presents, like any respectable pure-blood girl should be, but to be honest, her favourite Christmas had been when Cho invited her over. Happiness, laughter, even _home-cooked food!_ Her parents had been open, accepting of the strange, quiet girl that their daughter had brought back for Christmas like a stray puppy. Muggles were so… interesting. It had taken most of her intelligence to persuade her parents that she was at Fleurs' for Christmas.

It's suffice to say that her parents found out in the end. And that was the end of her being able to escape during the holidays. Well, officially escape…

A smile spread over Selene's face as she climbed the staircase. Yes, she was the kind of person who would show up to a detention half an hour early. Snape's face when she waited outside his dungeon for a whole hour was priceless. She wished she'd had one of those photo-thingy's that Cho had to take a picture. His beady black eyes, glaring down at the sister of his favourite pupil, innocently waiting for her detention to begin.

Then she walked into a wall.

"Where did that come from?" Selene rubbed her skull, looking around as if someone had magically levitated the wall into her path. "Okay…"

One, two, three steps back. No, no one was along this corridor. Thanking whoever cared enough about her in heaven for her solitude, Selene picked up her bag from where it had dropped onto the floor and set off at a walk toward McGonagall's office, still anxiously looking around her every so often.

As the office came into view, Selene noticed a tall, red haired figure slouched outside against the wall. He didn't look up as Selene approached, instead preferring to participate in a staring contest with his trainers.

Sighing in relief that there wouldn't be another fight, at least for a little while, Selene absent-mindedly took out one of her Ancient Runes books and began to read, raising her eyebrows at some of the more absurd passages.

"Someone up there has it in for me." Selene muttered aloud, flicking the page with her finger. "Bet it's my grandmother."

"And why would that be?" Fred raised his head from his silent contest, glaring at Selene with out-of-place vigour.

"Ah, you know, she hated me." Selene flicked the page again, refusing to look at him. "Most people do, you know. You're not the only one."

She could just she his freckled face out of the corner of her eye, and she noticed that he blushed slightly at this comment. Thank Rowena for small mercies. At least he had some type of manners, but maybe she should get her mother to give him a crash-course.

Laughing lightly at this unfruitful idea, she replaced the book into her bursting bag and finally met his gaze, if reluctantly. "You're early." She remarked, resisting the urge to reach over and slap him. His face was covered in utmost dislike.

"So are you." He replied, placing one hand on his hip, trying to make himself look cool. "But unlike you, I have a life."

"Do you want me to hex you again?" Selene withdrew her wand from her pocket holding it in her left hand menacingly. "I've got quite good at some nasty hexes and Cho didn't want me try them out on her. You'd be perfect."

"You wouldn't be fast enough love." Fred said lazily, raising an eyebrow at her admittedly rubbish threat. "I did get an E in Charms."

"Well I got an O; eight O's to be exact." She countered, crossing her arms. "How many OWLs did you get? Three? Charms, Potions and Transfiguration?"

"How the hell do you know that?" Fred's sneer was swapped with complete surprise as he regarded Selene with thinly disguised amazement. "Have you been stalking me or something?"

Too late, one of her famous blushes surfaced. "NO!" Selene corrected, much too loudly. "No, I just… have a good memory. And your brother told me."

"Remind me to jinx him." He murmured, squashing a spider beneath his foot angrily. "He's way too friendly with the wrong type of people."

"Let me just point out, George isn't the only one who will at least talk to me. Hermione, she's really nice to me too. Ron, he's hilarious sometimes. Harry, admittedly obsessed with Cho but he still likes me enough to talk to me between lessons. And I remember Percy from last year, not much of a laugh but didn't suddenly squish me when he met me. So, in all fairness, you don't have a leg to stand on." Selene defended. "And for your information, the wrong kind of people for my family are the right kind of people for me."

Fred's face flushed an angry red colour and too late Selene realised her mistake. Tales had carried of Fred Weasley's feared temper, and the situations people had found themselves in after pissing him off. "My problem with you isn't just your bloody family princess, it goes a whole lot deeper than that you… you little…"

"Is there a problem?" Professor McGonagall's voice interrupted their argument, coldly looking down at the two people currently quarrelling outside her office.

"No Professor McGonagall, not at all." Selene quickly said, as Fred backed away, anger still evident from his shaking hands.

"You won't be having your detention here Mr Weasley, Miss Malfoy." Professor McGonagall closed the door behind her and beckoned the pair to follow her down the corridor.

"Where are we going?" Fred asked, coldly ignoring Selene.

"I have decided that it would be beneficial if you did something constructive for your detention, not just lines or cleaning." Professor McGonagall explained, leading them back down the stairs. "So, Hagrid says he needs help feeding the Thestrals tonight, which will be your punishment."

Selene's blood ran cold. She knew exactly what Thestral's ate, and it wasn't very pretty. Not for her, anyway. In order for then to be able to thrive naturally, they must eat Venomous Tarentaculars.

"Great, feeding invisible giant birds." Fred moaned sarcastically. "My idea of a night well spent."

"They're not invisible." Selene found herself saying despite herself. "Thestrals are visible to people who have seen death, and they're not birds they're in the same class as Dragons actually. They're very peaceful but they scare the living daylights out of me."

"That is correct Miss Malfoy. Can you see them?" Professor McGonagall enquired, continuing through the darkening courtyard.

"Yes Professor." Selene admitted, feeling the hot gaze of Fred Weasley on her. "I always have been able to, as long as I can remember."

Closing her eyes momentarily, Selene shook the memory of that night out of her mind, biting back the bile that always rose when she thought about it. So much blood… Sometimes memories were the hardest things to bear.

"Professor Sprout?" Professor McGonagall called out, shaking her back into the present tense. Selene narrowly avoided walking into a wall, but luckily in the evening it was much too dark for Fred to be able to see her blunder. "I have them!"

"Excellent, excellent." Professor Sprout bumbled out of a greenhouse, smiling as she walked towards them. "Who have you got for me today Minerva?"

McGonagall stepped backwards so Sprout could see Fred and Selene standing in the bright glare of Professor Sprout's lamp. "Fred Weasley and Selene Malfoy, Pomona. I trust you remember them?"

"I do." Sprout looked at Selene with an air of trying to forget an unpleasant memory. "May I say Minerva, I was hoping for people who could… cope?"

Selene blushed as she remembered just how bad one of her Herbology lessons had turned out. They had been doing something that was actually tedious rather than dangerous; repotting Mandrakes, when someone had "accidently" dropped one on her foot, causing her to swear loudly and send hers flying into Professor Sprout's head. That had been her first ever detention, which was admirable considering that it was in the fourth year.

"Mr Weasley is more than capable of handling this, even if his 'P' begs to differ, and I understand Miss Malfoy got a…" Professor McGonagall trailed off, turning to Selene with a questioning look.

"Um…" Selene looked at Professor Sprout for help, but the Professor just stood there waiting like Professor McGonagall. "A 'T' Professor McGonagall."

Fred broke into laughter at the disbelieving look on McGonagall's face and the expression of accustomed pain on Professor Sprout's. Selene clenched her fists and shot him a dirty look, resisting the urge to try out another curse on him. Somehow she felt it wouldn't go down well in the middle of a detention.

"Well." Professor McGonagall continued. "I'll leave you here. Their detention ends at nine tonight Pomona, can you please see them to their common rooms?"

McGonagall strode off through the night towards Hogwarts, leaving a still chuckling Fred and a scarlet Selene behind with an incredulous Professor Sprout. Shaking her head, Sprout led them through the benches and bushes in Greenhouse 4, stopping at a bed full of Venomous Tarentaculars.

"Right, Mr Weasley, you will need to take three Tarentaculars for each Thestral. There are currently 16 Thestrals in the Hogwarts heard so that'll make…" Professor Sprout began to count up on her fingers.

"48 Professor." Supplied Selene without thinking.

Fred was now looking at her with a mixture of amazement and repulsion. Professor Sprout nodded after a moments more thought. "That's right. Wheelbarrows on the left, Hagrid is down at his cabin when you're ready to feed the Thestrals. Can I leave you or will you-"

"We'll be fine." Fred insisted with a grin.

"If you're sure…" Professor Sprout looked like she wanted to say something but she refrained and walked back out of the greenhouse.

"Please don't eat my fingers…" Selene muttered as she extended a hand towards the quietly teething Tarentaculars. "Please, I quite like my fingers…"

"Are you talking to them?" Fred asked, looking bemused. "Sorry love, but I don't think they have ears."

"Don't call me 'love', or you'll have no ears." Picking up a plant and holding it well away from her, Selene gingerly dropped it into the empty wheelbarrow. "And possibly no tongue as well."

"And how would that benefit you?" Fred asked, taking the opportunity to slouch against the greenhouse wall. "Angelina would be pissed for one thing, and she's really scary, father to dig you out or not."

"Call me when you find that father because I could do with a new one." Selene dug in her pocket for her wand and began to levitate the Tarentaculars into the wheelbarrow. Amid all the confusion, neither Professor had mentioned that they couldn't use magic. "Now can you actually do something? I have lots of homework and I want to get it done before midnight."

"You actually do homework?" Fred joked, but the joke fell flat when Selene nodded like he was mad. "Um… okay. Just trying to diffuse the tension."

"Shut up." Selene murmured, counting the Tarentaculars. "And please, I'm not kidding when I say I have lots of homework. Professor Flitwick always finds the need to give me more than everyone else. And Fleur'll wake me up at about twenty past six tomorrow wanting to go stalk Krum or something."

"You stalk Krum?"

"No, but loads of girls in our year do and Fleur likes to show them up. Thinks it's fun. Personally I don't see the point but… Urgh, can you actually do anything or are you stuck in that position?"

"It's fun watching a Malfoy work." Fred smirked, ignoring the temperature rise in the greenhouse and dismissing it as a fluke. "Didn't you have a house elf? Who does the cleaning now?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me, you'll find I am extremely bored and I need something to pass the time."

Selene dropped her concentration and the Tarentacular she was levitating thumped down back into the flowerbed. "If you're bored, then do something. I'm the one doing all the work here, so if you think you can just kick back and relax you're mistaken. Unlike you, I have friends I want to get back to and homework I need to complete."

"Ah, I thought we'd covered this, they're not your friends." Fred said, smirking again. "Did your precious daddy buy them for you? Or did you somehow buy them yourself? Or maybe they're just friends with you for your money; although why anyone would want filthy money like yours I have no idea."

Selene whipped around so she was facing them. Raising her had, she slapped him across the face, feeling a stinging sensation flood her palm. It left a satisfying red mark on his cheek though, and Fred was too shocked to retaliate.

"Don't you dare insult my friends." She shook with anger, grasping her wand and pointing it at Fred menacingly. "Ever. Again."

Before she could question herself, Selene had grabbed her bag and walked out of the greenhouse, tears spilling down her face. She turned around just long enough to lock his legs together – he should try picking Tarentaculars with stuck-together legs.

She'd walked out of a detention. Not once in her life had she been so deliberately rude and that was the first time she'd lost her temper in front of someone. Selene wiped the tears off her face and started to walk back toward the castle, severely regretting her decision. She couldn't walk back in there, not after cursing and slapping Fred. Disappointment won out over social suicide this time, she wouldn't let him see that he'd got to her.

Quietly slipping through the Entrance Hall, Selene began to trudge up the enormous amount of stairs that were between her and Ravenclaw tower. There was no one around at this time, they were all in detention, in the common rooms or sneaking around some corridor.

"Three of hearts, knave of spades, queen of clubs, ten of diamonds…" Someone was muttering fro the corridor to the left of Selene. "Three of sadness, knave of anger, queen of fury, ten of pain…"

Professor Trelawney walked out of the dark corridor, muttering and reshuffling the cards, but she looked up when Selene approached and a slightly dreamy smile drifted over her face.

"My dear, I wondered when I shall be seeing you. My crystal ball foretold it, but predictions are never clear enough. Can you ask your dear friend Miss Edgecombe to check her homework? I fear it will be wrong when I come to mark it. But anyway, what can I do for you my dear?"

"Um… nothing Professor." Selene answered hastily. She'd taken Divination for three years, but it wasn't mandatory for any career choice she could take despite an 'A' in her OWL. So, much to Marietta's dismay, she was the only one in their group left taking Divination onto NEWT level. "I'll tell Marietta though."

"Yet I sense there is something…" Professor Trelawney, without warning, reached out and grabbed Selene's hand. "A bet… a bet that will change something for you. In your near future dear, a crossroads. Two choices. Then I see a problem, there will not be an easy solution. I fear that there will be sadness, despair even, for one of your close friends. Remember that sometimes friendship means more than gold, my dear."

"Um… okay." She had learnt a long time ago to just accept whatever Trelawney put on your plate and later ignore it, it was doubtful that the Professor actually possessed the 'Inner Eye'.

As Trelawney shuffled off down the hallway, still flicking through the pack of playing cards and muttering, Selene took the chance and set off at a brisk walk in the opposite direction. Maybe she could convince Cho that the detention had been cancelled/postponed?

Reaching the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw that hung over the portrait hole, Selene reached out a hand and knocked twice on the wall next to it. Rowena Ravenclaw turned to face her, a small smile on her face. This portrait was known to be quite isolated from the rest, but Ravenclaw sometimes enjoyed a chat with some of her older students.

"My dear." Ravenclaw smiled down at Selene, nodding as she did. "It has been a while. Are you well? How are your studies going?"

"They're going very well thank you. I am having a little trouble in Potions but that is easily sorted. I just need to revise some more techniques."

Rowena nodded again, and adopted a pondering expression like she often did. "Now, my dear, when is a door not a door?"

"When it's ajar." Selene answered with ease, some muggles had changed the old riddle into a joke and Cho had introduced it to her over last Christmas. It wasn't hard to forget, not after she'd actually understood the intonation needed to tell the joke.

"Very good." The portrait swung forward to reveal the calm, peaceful aura of the Ravenclaw common room, bedecked in blue and bronze hangings. It was silent, save for a few chatters here and there, but that was generally accepted as a sign that everyone was working or was absorbed in something interesting.

Climbing through the portrait hole, Selene made a beeline for the sofas where Cho, Marietta and some of her other Ravenclaw friends were clustered around a pile of Witch Weekly magazines.

Cho looked out as she approached, and smiled. "Hi Sel! Come on, take a magazine, we're trying out some of the quizzes!"

Silently thanking Rowena that Cho didn't ask her why she was early, Selene took a dramatic break from tradition and picked up a magazine, curling up between Marietta and a fifth year girl called Lottie.

"What Quidditch position should you date?" Selene read out, lip curling slightly as she did. She'd never had any patience for any type of quiz, but the Quidditch ones annoyed her the most. "Oh well. Question 1: Cookie Dough or Marzipan?"

There was no question there, as Selene circled 'Cookie Dough' with her quill. Question 2: My Charm Romance or One Spell? Nah, had to My Charm Romance, the best Wizarding band in her opinion. Cho glanced over her shoulder and made a little sound of disgust at her choice. Cho was obsessed with One Spell.

Selene bolted through the questions, not really caring whatever the outcome was. Question 3: Firewhiskey or Butterbeer, answering Butterbeer without a second thought. Question 4: Charms or Transfiguration, and Selene hastily circled Charms, even though Transfiguration was slightly more interesting for her, and McGonagall never gave her extra homework.

There were twenty questions overall, and each question gave you two or three choices depending on the diversity of the topic it covered. Selene dropped her quill onto the table as the magical magazine began to count up her score. Cho glanced over Selene's shoulder and surveyed her answers. "I got Seeker." She explained, blushing slightly. "Which is good, I guess, because Cedric plays Seeker."

When Selene looked back at the magazine after reading Cho's score for 'What magical food item are you?' (Cho scored Chocolate Frog). Vaguely expecting it to turn out something resembling Keeper or Chaser, she was mildly taken aback when it came up with Beater.

"Now we can set you up with Poe!" Lottie called out, pointing excitedly at the score. "I always thought he had a thing for you!"

"At least Zabini doesn't play Quidditch." Selene muttered, unknowingly resigning herself to a jam-packed night of Witch Weekly quizzes and giggling. "But Poe's a troll, almost as bad as Flint."

"I know! I know!" Cho perked up instantly as she recognised the change of topic. "Let's set you up with George Weasley!"

**This chapter is over 4000 words, so I hope you're happy with it. This is officially the longest chapter so far! Go me!**

**I'm sorry I made you wait for this chapter, but I hope it was worth it. The whole idea of 'Let's set you up with George Weasley' is a little bit weird but when his friends get in on it… well, no spoilers here!**

**I'm trying a few different things out for the next chapter, so please review and give me some suggestions! Also, Fred was supposed to be a bit less mean in this chapter, but I couldn't resist having Selene actually slap him. The opportunity was just too great!**

**Please, as always, read and review! Let me know what you think about Trelawney's weird prediction…**

**And, as always, I still need pictures!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	15. Chapter 14: The Memory Game

**Hi! This chapter is for my excellent reviewers:**

**Maxie210, I plan to! And I'm glad you think I'm the best author ever!**

**Kacey, yeah, she was meant to be a little mean, but take it from me, she didn't mean to be. She just god pissed at him, I think I'd react the same way. And yay! It was worth the wait!**

**Guest no. 1, I'll try to add some more 'Selene past' and 'Fred stuff' in here for you; hope you like it!**

**Guest no.2: You will find out who she saw die soon, but by soon I only mean definitely before chapter 30. If there is a chapter 30. There should be.**

**This includes some first person POV, so the first POV change is where it skips from 3****rd**** person to 1****st****. Then it goes back to 3****rd**** the next POV change.**

**And from last chapter, the song lyrics belong to Pink Floyd and Oasis, not me! **

**I don't own, never will own, maybe should own Harry Potter. If I did then Selene Malfoy wouldn't be an OC, she'd be an actual character. I think she deserves it, with all she has to go through.**

* * *

"I have to find the will to carry on." - The Show Must Go On by Queen

* * *

Chapter 14: The Memory Game

_Dear Diary,_

_ I really don't know what the bloody hell is going on nowadays. Really, I don't. Is it just something about sixth year that screws you up? Or is it just me whose life is going haywire? I'm betting on the latter as no one else seems like they're having a mental breakdown._

_ Am I even having a mental breakdown? God, I don't know what's wrong with me nowadays. One minute I'm levitating dangerous plants into wheelbarrows and the next I'm storming out of greenhouse severely pissed off at someone. And that someone's name shall not be disclosed here because I think that if I write it then I'll tear this notebook into a million tiny scraps of paper._

_ I slapped him._

_ I never slap people! What the hell? Actually, I never slapped anyone until last night, but to be fair I think he deserved it._

_ Oh, who am I kidding, I'll probably end up apologising before the day is out, I have no self-esteem and I can't hold a grudge. If I wasn't in Ravenclaw I'd probably be a reject with no friends, which is exactly what HE thinks. And as much as I want to avoid him, now my friends are going to try and set me up with his twin brother. No, no, he's just a friend but Cho just won't listen, will she? Ever. _

_ Onto a lighter subject, it's only a few weeks until Christmas so CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! For lots more people than normal too, Hermione and Ron and Harry and George etc. Even Dobby! _

_ Dobby is now working at Hogwarts! Isn't that great? I always hoped he'd get a better job than just foot servant at the Manor, and that elf really deserves it. He was kind enough to tell me as well; in fact he went out of his way to talk to me in Ravenclaw tower one night last month. _

_ I need to write to my mother; I think it'd be better for both me and Draco that way. _

Selene woke up to the sound of the Wizarding Wireless.

This wasn't uncommon for a Saturday morning, in fact it was a common ritual for Cho to 'get ready' to the sounds of whatever they decided to play that day.

And when 'get ready' meant thorough outfit planning, full makeup, hair styling and accessory choosing, it always seemed to start at about 5 in the morning.

"Cho…" Selene pulled the covers over her face and tried to ignore the music that was pounding throughout the dormitory. "Please consider my eardrums…"

"Oh, Selene…" Cho threw the covers off her friend, smiling sweetly. "You know how long it takes to get ready on a Saturday morning. Hours, hours sweetie. You can't slack off."

"And as phase 1 of 'Operation Selorge' begins today, we need even more time to work on you!" Marietta poked her head into the frame, her normally curly hair currently being curled by lots and lots of muggle curling irons. "Come on! Beauty doesn't wait for anyone!"

"Except me." Selene tugged the covers back across herself, closing her eyes and throwing a pillow across her ears. "It's half-past four _in the morning_. Let me sleep."

The two girls shared a look and simultaneously yanked the covers onto the floor, and Marietta wrestled the pillow off Selene's face while Cho pulled her friend to standing height, noting with distaste the pyjamas.

"Sweetie, what have we all told you about wearing _those_." Cho looked pointedly at the Oasis top. "And that's a t-shirt, I thought we covered this when I brought them for you."

"Oh well." Selene yawned, not willing to put up much of a fight. "Just… get on with it." Maybe if she was lucky she'd be in time for breakfast.

Promptly Cho jumped across to Selene's trunk, which was amazingly tidy and packed with books and not many clothes. Tipping the books out, ignoring Selene's plea, she rifled through the few clothes that she owned that weren't uniform.

Marietta, with the help of Lottie, who had miraculously appeared from nowhere, began to decide on her makeup. Selene studiously ignored all of this, and tried to get to sleep in the middle of the floor. Unfortunately, floors aren't the most comfortable surfaces, but you'll sleep just about anywhere at four in the morning.

"Thank Rowena!" Cho yelled, holding up a purple tank top that Selene owned. "Something wearable! How long have you had this?"

"Urm… Mother got it for me over the summer."

Cho knew better than to argue with her friend, but she was still pretty annoyed that Selene owned all of this pretty clothing and she never brought any attention to it at all, preferring to wear jeans and jumpers on her weekends. It was lucky that her mother had never cropped up at the school on these days; everyone knew very well what she'd think of her daughter wearing muggle clothing.

"Well, you don't have anything that goes with it… Yes! I know!" Cho leaped to her bed, picking up a horribly short skirt that was blue and sparkly. "This, the tank top, some purple leggings and-"

"Can you cope with heels today?" Lottie cut in, holding up a pair. "These would look lovely on you. We have the same shoe size, don't we?"

"Yeah." Marietta cut in, holding up what looked like a portable torture chamber. "Shall we start?"

Throughout the next two hours, Selene was poked with mascara applicators, prodded with various makeup containers and her hair was changed every ten minutes. Straight to curly to wavy to ponytail…

Finally, after what seemed like years, she emerged out the other end looking like she'd been stuck through a converted carwash.

Her hair was straight, after way too much deliberation, and it hung almost half-way down her back, her lips had been covered in pink lipstick and a similar shade of blusher had been applied on her face. The skirt didn't look too bad, it was about knee length, and Selene suspected that Cho had placed a lengthening charm on it.

"Can I go down for breakfast now?" Said Selene hopefully, feeling her stomach beginning to complain.

"No, you can wait for another half an hour, can't you?" Cho insisted, walking into the bathroom. "I want to see _everyone's _reaction, especially George's!"

Over the past week, they had been trying to coach Selene round to the setting up idea, and it hadn't been successful. Yes, she caught George looking at her sometimes in Charms, but it was because he was trying to piss off Fred, not because he found her attractive or anything. Now that would be weird. She thought as him as her friend, no more.

But they couldn't take a bloody hint, and a few days of this shit with no reaction would tone it down a bit, if not completely.

The reaction was as Selene expected in the common room, gaping and she swore Michael Corner wolf-whistled. Crossing her arms over her chest, she ignored the gazes of her fellow Ravenclaws and focused on making it to the portrait hole without fainting in shyness. She could feel her face turning a beetroot colour.

"That wasn't so bad!" Cho said, and Selene's glare just made her laugh. "No, seriously, that wasn't as bad as I could've been."

"We should have done this last year!" Marietta added, nodding to a pair of gawking Gryffindor second-years as they walked towards the main staircase. "Why didn't we?"

Fred's P.O.V.

"What you thinking about Forge?" George asked me as we made our way down to the Great Hall for the sacred time that was breakfast.

"Revenge." I answered, speaking for only myself as I did. I still couldn't understand why she'd slapped me. One minute I was doing fine, not yelling at her or jinxing her or trying out my new stash of fireworks, and the next I'm left in a greenhouse with my legs locked together and a stinging cheek.

George rolled his eyes, which made me frown. I couldn't understand why he even liked that girl. One, she was a Malfoy, two, she was a _Ravenclaw_, which made her a nerd and above all the pranking jazz, three she was a Prefect, and could give me a detention whenever she wanted. I tried not to hang around Prefects too much, Percy being an exception as he's (somehow) my brother.

"What were you taunting her about this time?" George asked, as we made a beeline for the stairs, expertly swerving to avoid a group of third years.

"Nothing." I lied, but George can annoyingly tell whenever I lie. "Argh, okay, I was just saying that it was a bit weird how she hangs around with all those girls who are giggly and obnoxious-"

"-Not to mention annoying." George finished for me, with a knowing grin. "I don't know either; she's really nice and actually turned a blind eye when she saw me pranking Snape a couple weeks ago.

Now that was surprising. I'd never managed to talk someone into letting me off detention before, Prefect or Professor. "Wow."

"I know. I think someone might have confunded her." George admitted, as we started to walk into the Great Hall. "Yay! PANCAKES!"

One of the many weird things about my twin brother is his obsession over pancakes. And treacle tart. And many other kinds of food. Don't get me wrong, I love food too, but I don't instantly rush into action every time I see a pancake.

"AND BACON!" I noticed, running over to Gryffindor table, sitting between Ange and George. "Hi Ange, pass the bacon?"

There are food priorities in this world. First come chocolate, then bacon, then chocolate and bacon. Nobody can refuse bacon.

"Want some Ange?" George wafted the plate of bacon temptingly under her nose, grinning like a madman. "Bacon…"

"No thanks." Ange smiled, but took some toast instead.

My mouth dropped open. She had just committed the ultimate blasphemy. She had _declined bacon!_ She had destroyed her flawless reputation, ripped it up and drowned it in a swimming pool. I was just about to tell her this, when a group of girls walked through the doors and into the Great Hall.

Cho was there, and Harry was gawping at her like he always was. He needed to learn discretion, or he'd be another Charlie. Marietta was there too, cute but not on the same level as Cho. But my attention was caught on the other girl.

She was tall, slender and pretty, with long brown hair but a slightly nervous expression. She was wearing a tight tank top that was brightly coloured, and a skirt. Okay, she was hot. But that wasn't the point. If I started openly flirting with her next to my girlfriend… it wasn't worth thinking about.

With a little jolt, I realised she was Selene. Wait, had I just admitted to myself that my so-called worst enemy was hot. Damn. Damn damnit damn those bloody unicorn ponies. Wait, unicorn ponies?

"Hey, George, I just had-"I looked around for my twin, he'd disappeared during my 'inner monologue' moment. That was the last time I had one of those then.

Turning to Angelina, she shook her head and resumed nibbling on her toast. Boring woman, only ate bacon if it was before a Quidditch match. Something about a diet. Stupid really, you don't need to diet if you're only a size eight.

"Where is he?" I asked, feeling slightly put out at George's lack of twinly spirit. It was annoying, having someone who insists on going A.W.O.L. on you.

"Over there." Ange smirked, gesturing to the Ravenclaw table. "Didn't waste any time, did he?"

"Huh? What?" I immediately looked behind me, in the approximate direction of the Ravenclaws. Sure enough, my dear twin brother was where Angelina told me, but that didn't stop me spitting out my bacon all over Lee.

Lee looked at me, disgusted, but he'd learnt long ago not to argue with me about anything concerning bacon, as he'd lose. In third year, he and George actually made me a badge that read _"King of Bacon"_.

George was sitting between Cho and Marietta, flirting, yes, flirting, with Selene. He was flirting with Draco Malfoy's sister. He couldn't do that! One thing, she probably felt above us, next her parents were massive dickheads, she was way too pretty for him, she spent her free time reading, she's a prefect- so if her and George get involved I can wave goodbye to pranking – and I don't really want to see her any more than necessary.

"I need to stop him." I felt my legs carrying me towards the Ravenclaws, but my brain just wanted me to sit down and eat bacon, like any normal person would do. "He can't date her! She's a Malfoy!" I added, more to myself than anyone else.

Selene's P.O.V.

"So, do you normally go out like this, or is it a one off?" George asked, taking a pancake off Cho silently.

Selene laughed, shaking her head much to Marietta's annoyance. "I've been up since half-four, getting stabbed with various torture instruments."

He raised an eyebrow at this, looking around at the small group. "And by "torture instruments" I take it you mean makeup and hair straighteners?"

"Right first time." She rolled her eyes and massaged her ankles slightly; they still ached from those bloody shoes. Last time she _ever _would wear heels. EVER. And she truly meant it this time.

"Well, you look pretty; you should let them attack you more often." George smiled at Selene, which made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Had he been flirting with her this whole time? Geez, she was never going to get a grip on all this girly stuff. Had she been flirting back? She didn't want to be annoying or overly idiotic.

"Hi George." Selene looked up from her breakfast to see Fred Weasley. She could of hugged him, getting her out of a situation like that. But she wouldn't, because he didn't like her, and hugging him would just be weird. Very weird. She didn't want to think about it, or she would become about five times as messed up than she already was.

"I was just over here, talking to these lovely girls." George winked at Selene, and her stomach dropped in shock. What. The. Hell? "Some more lovely than others, I might add."

Fred's smile dropped as he looked coldly at Selene. So much for not screwing up. It is extremely hard to ignore someone when they won't leave you alone. If it wasn't the Great Hall, then it was glares in the corridor, stares in Charms and DADA and general annoyance.

"I see." Fred said, with about as much conviction as a garden fence. "I didn't know you had a thing for geeks, George."

To anyone else, this would be a compliment or at least not a horrid insult, but Selene saw this as just another attack. Which is good, because to Fred it was. Selene forced herself to meet his eyes, and regretted it almost immediately.

_It's a dark room._

_ The only light comes from the moon that hangs in the sky, a million miles away. Everything seems a million miles away from here. Everything is._

She came back to the real world with a gasp, unwilling to remember that night. If she did then… she wasn't sure. Would she break down? Be able to get past it like it was just another letter from her parents, just another day in the weird world of Selene Malfoy?

Her shock was interrupted by a loud hoot as a tawny owl came to rest in front of her, nuzzling its little head into the palm of Selene's hand. There was a letter tied around its left leg.

"Thanks Cress." Selene stroked the feathers of her owl absent-mindedly as she detached the letter, feeding Cress a piece of waffle before watching her fly off to the Owlery.

"I need to go and read this." Selene stood up, smiling at George apologetically before leaving the hall as fast as she could without tripping over.

Instantly knowing where she needed to go for a letter like this, after such a recollection, Selene walked up three flights of stairs, making a beeline for an empty classroom that was only used sometimes for practical Defence lessons

Selene traced the elegant letters of her mother's best pureblood script warily, knowing very well what the words inside might entail. The neater the handwriting; the bigger the news.

_My dearest daughter,_

_ Your father and I are very well thank you, and the Manor is flourishing even without you and your brother here to keep an eye on parts of the grounds for us._

_ But, unfortunately, I cannot waste a sheet of parchment with pleasantries, as much as it may be beneficial my dear. Firstly, thank you for explaining the situation with your detention with me, and I assure you no harm will come to you in Potions now. However, I must advise you to keep away from trouble, as our reputation and our family name cannot be sullied by the doings of a few._

_ No, what I have written to tell you; is that something big is happening in our world. Something that we must all prepare for, and something I know your father has looked forward to for many years. We must all stay vigilant, and keep away from the scum of the Wizarding World. _

_ I cannot write more here, but your father will no doubt explain it to you in more detail when you are home for Christmas. I dearly miss you, and I wish you luck in your studies._

_ I am also writing to Draco about this, and as such it is not essential for you to alert him to this letter; in fact it's important that the contents of this stay between our family._

_ Your loving _

_ Mother_

Something was bad. Something was going wrong; Selene could see it from the angled slope of her letters. And the secrecy wasn't hard to read, something was wrong with her father, something that couldn't be put in words for fear of interception.

Biting her lip, Selene rested her head against the stone wall of the classroom, closing her eyes as if not seeing the world might make it go away. But just sitting there, alone except for her thoughts and the less-than-comforting words of the letter, the earlier memory came back full force.

_It's a dark room._

_ The only light comes from the moon that hangs in the sky, a million miles away. Everything seems a million miles away from here, everything is._

_ There are two men, standing in the room, wands out and pointing right at me. I sob, knowing that they don't have long, not if they are here. The taller one sees I am just a little girl, and nudges the other, muttering something indistinguishable._

_ I can't meet their eyes. I hang my head, not wanting to see their faces in the pale moonlight. It'll just make it harder for me. _

_ I know their names, their family, their ages. But I don't _know _them, not in the proper sense. And I'm wondering what I'm doing here, standing in a middle of a room, trying to find words that'll explain what will happen if they don't leave now. Because they have to leave now._

_ But what will happen if I warn them? Will they know? Will they kill me, too? I'm disposable, only here because my aunt thought it'd be 'educational' for me to see how they do it. _

_ How they kill people._

_ Choking, I bury my head in my hands, silently willing my voice to speak, my mouth to work. I don't want to watch this; I don't want this to happen. I never wanted anything to happen to these two people. To no-one. No-one at all._

_ But I'm just no-one; and no-one will listen to me. My mother will pretend, nod and stroke my hair as I cry. But it won't happen. She won't make it stop, however much I plead. _

_ The door thumps open and my heart stops, my breath catches in my throat. He's here. I didn't warn them. My stomach flops and I want nothing more than to just run, run until I'm home and there'll be chocolate brownies and warm hugs and no mention of what has happened here. I'll be safe._

_ They're talking now, throwing insults backwards and forwards; like a malicious game of ping pong. My hands slowly rise to cover my ears; I want to drown them out, I want to be detached from this. I don't want to be here. _

_ Screaming. Unearthly screaming. I can't block it out – it's too real to be a dream. Tears pour down my face as I raise my eyes, willing myself to be strong, help those poor people, be the girl my mother believes I will become one day._

_ Blood pours from the gash in his side, scarlet staining his shirt as the other stands, helplessly tied up in duelling one of my father's friends. I want to help, I have to, but my legs feel like lead weights and I'm numb to the core, watching the life drain out of this man, the man I failed to save._

_ His face is gashed, his left cheek a bloody hole that gapes at me openly. His arm hangs awkwardly, crushed under the weight of a well-placed curse. I want to vomit, looking at the horrific injuries he's sustaining. But he's coping, somehow. He's doing better than I am, and I'm not covered in my own blood._

_ He's dying. He knows that. He's done for. No way out. _

_ And as his final moment comes, his eyes find mine. I can feel myself screaming now, maybe I was always screaming. But his eyes aren't dark, aren't devoid of hope and light like so many others. They shine. They light up more than just the room, they light up me too. And they're so full of hope, and love, and pain, that I wonder who will miss him. Pitying eyes._

_ "I forgive you." He mouths, and the light switches off. _

**Wow, that was a bit weird. It wasn't meant to be that graphic, so I apologise if it was a bit of a shock. **

**But I enjoyed that chapter more than the previous ones, for one it has more backstory and it also starts up Fred's feelings for Selene, but unfortunately he won't recognise them for a while yet.**

**Next chapter: We find out about the Yule Ball!**

**I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Next one should be up by Friday if I'm optimistic.**

**See ya,**

**Eleanor**


	16. Chapter 15: Forgive And Forget

**Hello!**

**This has passed 3000 views hooray! I've also decided to give a little prize (in the form of a one-shot of your choice) for the thirtieth reviewer! And with 15 favourites and 20 followers, I thank you all too! And if you're the thirtieth to review, I'll contact you on Pm (or if you're a Guest, in the next Author's note) and you can tell me what you want me to do a one-shot of for you. It can be from this story or not, I don't really care. But it'll probably be longer if it's from this storyline.**

**Thank you to bellatrixD – I like him like that too, but I'm borderline insane so you're not out of the woods yet :D. Kacey – again, thanks for your review and I hope the Yule Ball is worth it for you too. lightbabe, Fred's acting like 16 months not sixteen years, he's throwing the toys out of the pram (do wizards have prams?).**

**Disclaimer: Damn it! I don't own Harry Potter! I only own everyone who doesn't appear in canon - I'm going to add so many little, insignificant OC's that don't matter, it's easier to just say that. For one thing, they don't show enough Ravenclaws! That's why Lottie, the fifth year cropped up, she might not do again.**

* * *

"Pick a side, pick a fight." - Take Back The City by Snow Patrol

* * *

Chapter 15: Forgive and Forget

Life can never be easy. No, it just can't. It can't be linear, where your only worries are how much cookie dough ice cream you've ingested and whether your Ancient Runes essay is good enough. And it's pointless trying to make it so.

Because when you've eaten a _lot _of cookie dough ice cream, no matter how young or old you are, it doesn't matter. Life's still a bitch, and time continues to slip away from you.

Yesterday you might have been laughing with your best friends about everything under the sun, and today you might be completely on your own while it persists to rain. The basic difference that happens, day to day, isn't unnoticeable. In fact it's the complete opposite.

Selene pushed her hair out of her face carefully, frowning down at the huge test Professor Moody had placed in front of her.

Fifty questions; and an hour to answer them in. What were they trying to do, kill her? Extract the brain power out of children and squeeze it all into a paint tube? Blow up the universe?

"Bloody hell." George swore from next to her. "What is he trying to do, kill us?"

His question was so close to her train of thought that she had to bit back a grin. "I really don't know, but the question material is quite short, small topic intervals. We should be alright, if you don't get distracted."

If the glazed look on George's face was any indication, then he had stopped listening a long time ago. Rolling her eyes, Selene flipped over the test paper and started to work her way through the piles of questions.

It worked like clockwork, mechanically reading the question and scribbling the answer down, ignoring everyone else in the room. Well, trying to anyway. Trying is sometimes the best you can do in the circumstances.

She had reached question six (Name the three darkest wizards on the twentieth century, in chronological order, and describe their defeat) when she became aware of someone throwing pieces of paper at her.

Gritting her teeth, Selene pushed her hair over her face again, obscuring the room from view. Grindelwald – defeated by Dumbledore in 1945, Liana Redwood – killed by a rampaging ogre in 1973, and Lord Voldemort – destroyed by a rebounding killing curse in 1981. Another paper ball hit her.

Question seven; describe the affects of the Cruciatus Curse. Another bit of paper. Uncontrollable pain, inability to m-

"Could you please stop that?" Selene muttered, looking up from her sheet to glare at George.

"Stop what?" George's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Oh, sorry." Selene apologised, turning back to the paper. Inability to move. Question eight: What is an inferius and how do you destroy it?

As yet another paper ball hit her in the back; Selene looked behind her for the source of the aggravation. A couple of people were sitting directly behind her and George; she identified them loosely as Alicia Spinnet and Roger Davies. Davies glanced up, and noticing her staring, glared at her with extreme proficiency.

Behind them though, were Fred and Sara Fawcett. Yes, it had been Fred who was casually chucking scraps of paper at her. She shouldn't be too surprised; he hadn't been able to leave her alone lately.

Now knowing who was persisting to annoy her, Selene was able to concentrate on her work for the rest of the lesson, now matter how annoyed she might be at his constant persistence.

Catching up with Cho after Moody had collected up the test papers, Selene started to ask her whether she had noticed Fred flicking bits of paper at her, but Cho, as always, jumped the gun.

"Fred Weasley was chucking bits of paper at you." She said, much too calmly for someone whose friend had just been tormented for a whole hour. "That's good, that means George likes you."

"Um, sorry, but how do those two relate?" Asked Selene, raising an eyebrow.

Cho groaned audibly and stopped in the middle of the corridor, grabbing Selene by the arm. "Sometimes, I wonder how you are in Ravenclaw. It _means_ that Fred has spotted George's obvious liking to you and wants to ask you how you did it." She explained slowly, as if talking to a wayward child. "Sweetie, we might need to give you another crash course in all of this."

"No, no, I'm fine." She replied hastily, wanting to keep her sanity for as long as possible. "I was just a bit confused, that's all. What do you have now?"

Cho didn't look convinced, but she gladly accepted the change of subject. "Care of Magical Creatures. You?"

"Arithmancy." Selene waved goodbye to Cho, who was making her way towards Hagrid's hut, and made for the fifth floor, nearly alone, being one of the few people to carry on the subject to NEWT level.

Arithmancy had a reputation for being one of the hardest subjects the Hogwarts curriculum had to offer, but it really wasn't too hard. Its teacher, Professor Vector, was well known for her overly harsh punishments, but again if you kept in her good books she was like a teddy bear. Not an actual teddy bear, because that would be terrifying.

Not many people actually understood Arithmancy, and that was perhaps the reason for its reputation. But, in a nutshell, it was all about magical numbers and ghost numbers and differential algorithms. Very interesting, but could easily bring on a throbbing headache.

Taking her seat next to a Hufflepuff boy – she could never remember his name – Selene tucked an unruly lock of hair behind her left ear and quickly reviewed the last lesson. She'd remembered to complete her homework, thank Helga, and it looked alright. It had been two in the morning when she'd finished it, and to be honest it wasn't all that easy to remember how she'd worked out the equations.

Harry's P.O.V.

Professor McGonagall had called the whole of Gryffindor house to her office after lunch for some reason. The rumours had circulated wildly, leaving most in a state of serious bewilderment about McGonagall's true identity.

The least offensive rumour was that she had gotten word that the Weasley twins had spiked all the blue cupcakes in the school to make anyone dance the tango who decided to eat them. The next was absurd, that McGonagall was actually a giant purple dancing banana from outer space.

The rest of them ranged from the idea that McGonagall was in a secret relationship with Professor Flitwick, and to the fact that she was starting up a punk band.

"It's stupid, really. Why would McGonagall start a punk band when there are awesome bands like Frankenstein! out there?" Lily askes Harry as they waited outside McGonagall's office. "Seriously, have you heard them? They are amazing. Mum hates them, but then she only likes Warbeck."

Harry shrugged, but Ron launched into a conversation eagerly, wanted to discuss it with Lily. He'd never win; Harry thought sadly, Lily's obsessions went deep. She was crazy on the same level as Oliver Wood sometimes.

"Our mother loves that bloody singer." Ron groaned. "Every Christmas, every single Christmas. Bill tried to blow up the Wireless a few years back, but he just got yelled at. Seriously, what is it with Warbeck?"

Professor McGonagall opened the door, nodding for everyone to flood in. "Boys on the left, girls on the right." She commanded, much to everyone's confusion. This didn't even correspond with the theory that she was part-dragon.

When everyone had sat down, Harry noticed that there was an odd kind of gramophone in the furthermost corner of the room that hadn't been there the last time he had been called in here.

"Quiet please! Quiet please!" Professor McGonagall called, clapping for silence. "Thank you. Now, I have called you all here to tell you a piece of very exciting news."

No one reacted, and Lily fake-yawned, rolling her eyes.

However, Professor McGonagall seemed unaffected by this and continued to explain as if there had been a lapse of tremendous applause. "The Triwizard Tournament includes a great many traditions. Now, traditionally, come Christmas time, there is a great ball to further honour our guests. The Yule Ball."

The girls all seemed very excited about this, and started to gossip eagerly amongst themselves. "Yes, yes." McGonagall continued. "The Yule Ball is a chance for us all to let out hair down. Inside every girl is an elegant swan, inside every boy a lordly lion waiting to prance. Now, you will all be required to dance in this ball. Mr Weasley."

She pointed at Ron, whose ears turned pink and reluctantly stood up and walked toward Professor McGonagall. "Please put your hand on my waist."

Ron looked taken aback and visibly flinched. "What?" He asked, shuddering as people began to snicker. "Just, what?"

"My waist Mr Weasley." She replied briskly, and the twins wolf-whistled. "Quickly now, if you would…?"

Music began to play from the gramophone in the corner and McGonagall led Ron around the empty space left between the rows of boys and the rows of girls.

Selene's P.O.V.

The Ravenclaws were experiencing something that was much the same, but Flitwick was much too small to dance with any of his Ravenclaw's – not even the tiniest first year – so he was standing back and surveying them all keenly.

Selene had reluctantly accepted a partner in the form of Randolph Burrow, a fellow chaser on the Quidditch team. She didn't mind him, he wasn't horrid or anything, but there was just something about him that seemed to put her teeth on edge permanently. And after a few minutes, after she'd stepped on his feet no less than twenty-six times, he probably felt the same way.

"You have no sense of rhythm." He whispered to her, avoiding a couple of people next to them. "Sorry, but you just don't."

"I know." Selene gritted her teeth. "How long do we have to do this?"

Finally, the music stopped and everyone was allowed to go, with a reminder that the boys have to ask the girls, which made several people mutter under their breath about sexism and the stupid traditions people stuck to.

Well, that made her scuppered, Selene thought. Not being very popular in any way with guys, that meant she either had the option to go home for Christmas or go with friends.

Going home for Christmas wasn't the greatest thing, and she'd never looked forward to it religiously the way everyone else seemed to. No matter how many times Draco could brag about the decorations at the Manor, and how they surpassed the Hogwarts ones threefold, it didn't mean that they meant anything. Certainly, the Christmas tree could sometimes barely fit into the Drawing Room, and the lavish green and red streamers that adorned the banisters and walls were the best the Wizarding World had to offer, but the atmosphere was always muted, and her parents never enjoyed the way Selene and Draco would insist on playing a customary game of Quidditch after dinner. Her happiest Christmases had been spent at Hogwarts, with its infectious music and surrounded by people who actually cared what their friend would be doing on Christmas day.

The first Christmas, when Draco was in second year and she was in fourth, was amazing. Her friends had reluctantly allowed their parents to take them home, and even her lack of company in Ravenclaw tower didn't seem to dampen her day. Professor Flitwick had invited her to his office in the morning, and insisted in showing her some tricky little charms that animated Christmas baubles and decorations. She only knew Draco, and loosely Crabbe and Goyle, in the Great Hall, but she'd easily chatted to a Hufflepuff boy a couple of years older than her and even Ginny Weasley, who was a little jumpy at the time but they'd had an enthusiastic conversation about the Holyhead Harpies all the same.

Were the Weasley family always there at some point in her life? She'd heard tales of the Weasley twins throughout her years at Hogwarts, and had even been on the receiving end on a few of their pranks a few times. Percy had been Head Boy when she was a new Prefect, quite pompous and prim but hadn't been mean to her, and she it always felt safe to talk to him. Ron, she'd heard her brother complaining about him, along with Harry Potter, and the story about how he defeated the Wizard Chess set had been remarkable. And Ginny, she was the one she knew the least about, but from the few times she'd talked with her she was quiet, but tough.

"Are you okay?" Cho cut into her daydream. "You look like someone's just pitched you off the Astronomy tower."

"I'm fine." Selene smoothed her robes carefully, trying not to look at her friend. "What are you thinking about? Do you want Cedric to ask you to the ball?"

Cho shook her head quickly. "No, I mean, no, it's okay if he doesn't I mean… it's alright he can go with who he wants, we're not officially dating yet."

"Yeah, right. I know nothing about relationships, but the one thing I do know is that if you go on three dates with someone, they most probably like you." Selene soothed, feeling like she'd just won the House Cup with her first ever piece of relationship advice. "Please stop worrying. You need to worry about me instead."

"Oh my Rowena! Yes!" Cho's mood changed dramatically. "There's no problem there, George is going to ask you!"

Selene felt like she'd just been shoved in a muggle contraption called a blender. "Um… no. Sorry. He isn't."

Giving her a self-pitying look, Cho rolled her eyes and silently willed her friend to finally have some hope. "Um… yes. Have you seen the way he-"

"-looks at me, yes." Selene sighed and resisted the urge to face-palm. "That's because he's trying to work out a way to stop Fred killing me. I don't think me dating George will help at all. You have to come to terms with it soon Cho, I am not girlfriend material, not even for a prankster. And…" Selene searched blindly for an excuse. "…what will my parents think? The Weasley's might be one of the "Stupid Twenty-Eight" but my parents will massacre me if I as much step into Hogsmede with George."

"Exactly!" Cho clapped her hand together with the air of an evil mad scientist. "You've always wanted to piss them off, right? Well, date George, your parents will kick you out, and you'll be free!"

"Cho, one thing stands out from that little spiel, what about Draco?" Selene reminded. "I can't just leave him at the Manor, who knows what stunt father will pull?"

Cho groaned, slapping her hand to her forehead, but abandoned to conversation. Selene sat down in her spot at the Ravenclaw table, pulling out _Hogwarts – A History _from her bag. Hermione had taken it out of the library for her, thinking that Selene would enjoy it. And she was enjoying it, much to everyone's disdain. It seemed not even the most studious Ravenclaw could read it.

She was at the very end of the chapter which detailed the different relationships the Founders had to each other. It seemed Slytherin wasn't the evil, manipulating bastard everyone made him out to be, but was actually a very nice guy. Gryffindor was a bit of a player, what with his courageous nature and all that jazz, but did have quite a deep affection for Rowena Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff was a whizz at cooking, and taught all the house-elves their recipes. In fact, she'd established the whole house-elf idea to give them an abuse-free workplace, and Selene had mentally logged this information to tell Hermione at some point. Ravenclaw was clever, like she was supposed to be, but also had quite the sense of humour, as she was the one who allegedly charmed the staircases to move around.

_"Selene." Father looks down at me sternly. Is it time for 'the talk'? _

_ "Yes father." I obligingly take the chair opposite him, ready for this. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. I must be in Slytherin. I must be in Slytherin. I must be in Slytherin._

_ "I need to talk to you about the houses at Hogwarts." He starts, nodding at my lack of surprise. I have spent my childhood in out library after all. "There are four. Slytherin, which was your mother and I's house. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor." He says the last with a perceivable curl of his mouth._

_ "Yes father." I repeat, biting my tongue like I have been taught to do. It is as I expected. I must be in Slytherin. I must be in Slytherin._

_ "You are expected to be in Slytherin." Father says what I thought he would. "Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are below you."_

_ He most likely says the rest in order of their acceptableness. Hufflepuffs are loyal, and despite their weaknesses, they may bode well with the estate. But Ravenclaws are too clever, and no pureblood elite family want their child to be in Ravenclaw. And Gryffindors are the deadly enemies of my family. I can't be in Gryffindor. I must be in Slytherin._

_ "Yes father." I acknowledge, hardly listening. I must be in Slytherin. But if I must be in Slytherin, then why am I hoping for Hufflepuff, Gryffindor or Ravenclaw? No. I must be in Slytherin. For my sake, I must be in Slytherin.._

Shaking her head, Selene stowed the book back into her bag, turning to where Cho, Marietta and a few others were discussing the yule ball.

"We can go dress shopping!" Marietta squealed. "Next weekend's Hogsmede, isn't it Selene? I know exactly where I can get the perfect dress… who do you think will ask me?"

Selene wisely chose not to answer that and instead idly wondered when Professor Flitwick would be passing around the list for people who wanted to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas. Her parents wouldn't probably mind either way, if Draco was at Hogwarts Selene should be as well.

"Ahem." Selene looked up suddenly. Cedric was standing in front of the group of girls, looking very anxious and slightly green. "Cho, I was wondering, um… if you'd…"

"YES!" Cho squeaked. "Oh, yes I'd love to go to the Yule Ball with you!"

"Great!" Cedric grinned. "See you around then. Oh, hi Selene." He smiled at her, before walking over to his Hufflepuff friends. If all the askings were going to be that simple, maybe she did have a chance after all.

Too late, Selene remembered that Zabini was a fourth year, and that he'd most certainly ask her ASAP to go to the ball with him. Being the creepy dude that he was, Selene didn't really want to be stuck with a Slytherin as her date and he wouldn't give up very easily.

So there were two options; persuade Draco to come home with her for the Christmas holidays, or get a date in the next couple of weeks. And when your best feature is your mind, that's not very easy. She wasn't a looker like Cho or charming like Marietta, she was shy, quiet, geeky and clumsy. The exact opposite of anything even remotely useful in the romance front. Not to mention her dysfunctional family name, that seemed to be something that she could never shake.

Someone had asked her out once, back in her fourth year, when people were still convinced she was French, not British. The guy had asked her this, Selene had told him and suddenly he wasn't quite so interested.

But she had friends, and for that Selene was grateful. They'd sat with her the whole day after she received that Howler over breakfast and tactfully didn't comment on her addiction to cookie dough ice cream. They'd introduced her to One Spell – which she hated, but it was still a nice gesture. And most of all, they'd never penalised her for her family. Unlike some others.

And as if by magic, those 'some others' came into view. Selene took one look at him, sighed and buried her head into her book again, preferring to read than to engage in another argument.

"Look up!" Cho pressed, obviously still hyped over Cedric. "Come on Selene, look up! George Weasley's coming in!"

Shaking her head, Selene kept on re-reading the paragraph. "That's Fred, not George."

Cho appeared into her vision, looking slightly puzzled but still hyperactive. "You can tell them apart? They are identical; there is nothing dissimilar between them! How do you know?"

"Godric, I don't know, I just can." Selene muttered, keeping her focus on the book. "They aren't identical; everyone just assumes that because their mother can't tell them apart. Fred, for example, glowers whenever I enter his presence and George simply looks indifferent. If that isn't an easy way to tell them apart what is?"

"Yeah, but Fred hasn't seen you yet." Cho pointed out. "He at least _looks _normal. So how, in that single glance, could you tell them apart?"

Selene almost dropped _Hogwarts – A History_. How could she tell them apart? She'd only talked to George a handful of times in total, and Fred wouldn't talk to her without being an arsehole. How the hell could she tell them apart?

Looking up again, she confirmed that it was Fred, along with the Quidditch commentator Lee Jorden and a Gryffindor sixth year she didn't recognise. Fred hadn't spotted her, that much was true, but somehow she just _knew _it was Fred. Even Lee was calling him George. So how…

"I'm going to go find Fleur." Selene found herself saying. "I said I'd help her with the second task."

Ignoring the questioning looks of her fellow Ravenclaws, Selene fled the Great Hall, resisting the urge to transfigure Fred into a goldfish on her way out. She made for the library, closeting herself on a chair without thinking about what she was meant to be doing.

The library was always where she went when she was upset, annoyed, or generally on the receiving end of dirty looks. This predicament didn't fit under any of the above. And, to be honest, all she wanted was for Fred to stop judging her.

Was it her face? Was it just something everyone saw but most were too kind to mention? Did she physically look like a Malfoy, like snobbish pureblood royalty? Her personality, was her shyness her simply just believing herself to be above everyone?

But the biggest, most momentous question she found herself asking herself: if she could cope with the glares in the hallways, then why did it hurt so bloody much when Fred Weasley judged her?

**Yes! It's Friday, a lovely, sunny Friday, and I have posted chapter 15! Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the Oasis song I've been listening to (Don't Look Back In Anger), but it's here!**

**I'm sorry if you were expecting Selene to get her Yule Ball date this chapter, but I promise, I promise next chapter. I just wanted to add that little snippet at the end, as I think everyone has moments of self-doubt, especially me. **

**Anyway, review, please! I'll love you for forever! (See what I did there? Ha HA!)**

**Ciao!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	17. Chapter 16: Supersonic

**Hola, mes amigos! **

**Kacey, I can say no more. I'm trying to draw it out a bit first though.**

**Where are my reviews? I know I promised a one-shot for the 30****th**** reviewer, but no one will get one if you guys don't review! I might do another prize for the 40****th**** too, if we get past the first benchmark.**

**The title of this chapter is inspired by Supersonic by Oasis, check it out :D**

* * *

"She says she's no good with words but I'm worse" - Dance Dance by Fall Out Boy

* * *

Chapter 16: Supersonic

"Well, that was enjoyable." Cho raised her eyebrow at Selene's observation. "Sarcasm, that was sarcasm, I promise." Selene said hastily.

"Well that's good, because I might have had to sign you up for mental observation." Cho joked lamely, mulling over the incredibly boring Transfiguration theory lesson they had been forced to take part in. It seemed that however many times you could review Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, it would never be enough.

"Hmmm…" Selene murmured, not really listening. She had promised to review the first twenty chapters of _Hogwarts – A History _for Hermione by that evening. She had only just finished chapter nineteen, and was diligently ploughing through chapter twenty. On top of that, Cho was refusing to talk about any subject apart from the Yule Ball, and Selene still hadn't found a partner.

Zabini had asked her twice, and both times she had declined. As far as she knew, Fleur was going with Roger Davies for some reason, and Marietta was going with some guy from Beauxbatons that she couldn't remember from when she went there.

"Selene, ma cherie!" Fleur's overly bright voice interrupted her reading, and Cho's face darkened. Cho didn't like Fleur that much, but at least they were somewhat friendly. "'Ow are you? I 'Aven't zeen you for too long!"

Selene chose not to point out that it was only last night that they'd been reviewing ideas on what the Second Task might entail. Fleur had discovered that it would sing if you opened it underwater, but Selene's limited knowledge of both Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures wasn't useful for either of them.

"'Ave you found a date for zee Yule Ball?" Fleur chattered excitedly. "Iz zat Fred Weezly going to ask you?"

"No!" Selene defended, almost instantly. "He doesn't like me very much Fleur. It's George I'm on better terms with." She corrected lightly.

"George Weezly? Hmm…" Fleur tapped her chin with a pair of slender fingers. "Iz zat ze guy 'o keeps staring at you?"

"George hasn't been staring at me…?" Selene trailed off, very confused. "Why would he? You can tell them apart, right?"

"But of course!" Fleur smiled gracefully. "But I 'ave 'ad a leetle trouble. Can you come with me?"

Cho nodded, but she didn't smile. "You go Selene; I should be okay with this homework now."

Fleur eagerly took her friend on a walk that seemed to detail most of the castle, and also seemed like a chance for Fleur to show off on an epic level. She almost knocked out a couple of fourth-year Slytherins, and Selene made a mental note to tell Draco. He'd be amused; they both shared the same basic sense of humour.

"I don't understand the riddle." Fleur spoke in French, which was always preferred despite her wish to improve at English. "Have you had any luck?"

Sighing, Selene rubbed the back of her neck. "No, I'm sorry Fleur. But I think it's probably underwater, because you had to open the egg underwater and-"

The rest of this explanation was lost as Fleur embraced her friend passionately. "Thank you!" She gushed, beginning to walk away again, dragging Selene behind her. "There are not many underwater places in Hogwarts, are there now? It should be easy to narrow it down!"

As they headed for the grounds, and the Beauxbatons carriage, Ron hurried up to the pair of them. "Hello Ron, how are you? Hope you haven't been in trouble!" Selene smiled.

Seeing his curious expression, she realised she had spoken in French. "Oh, sorry. Hi Ron."

"WillyougototheYuleBallwithme?" Ron rattled off quickly, blushing scarlet. "Um… Fleur?"

Selene mentally facepalmed. Ron had gone as red as a cherry tomato and seemed stuck-still, frozen like an icicle, and Fleur looked furious.

"What do you think? No, no! You are much too young, for one thing, and what makes you think…" Fleur began to yell in rapid French, her Veela side shining through a little.

Selene quietly prodded Ron, who had frozen, and seeing no response, gave a hasty goodbye to Fleur and began to propel Ron towards Gryffindor tower.

"Ron?" She whispered, ignoring the curious gazes of everyone as she basically pushed Ron up the staircase. "Ron?"

"Huh?" He started, looking around. "Did she say yes?"

Selene patted Ron carefully on the back, trying to prepare him for the news. "Sorry, she kind of said no. And yelled at you. She doesn't meant it, I promise, she's just a bit… passionate sometimes."

"Oh." Ron stopped still in his tracks as they gazed up at the Fat Lady. "Oh. Blithersnout."

"What?" Selene blinked. "What do you mean, Blithersnout?"

"It's the password." The Fat Lady rolled her eyes before swinging forwards. "I know you Ravenclaws think you are above passwords, but they are a lot more efficient, not to mention sensible…"

Ron turned to Selene, almost pleadingly. "Can you… tell them?" He asked, gesturing to the portrait hole. "Please? I don't think I can… you know…"

"Okay." She replied, nodding too. She followed Ron through the hole, taking in her unfamiliar surroundings. She had never been in the Gryffindor common room before.

It was red and gold, as was to be expected with Gryffindors, and it was also a lot noisier and chaotic than the Ravenclaw common room. There was a fireplace, one of the few similarities between the two house common rooms, and lots of first years were clustered around it.

Luckily, there were a few students from other houses in here too, she spotted Lottie chatting with Alicia Spinnet, so she didn't stand out. Ron made a beeline towards where Harry and Hermione were talking about something or other in a corner, away from all the mess and chaos.

"Hi Ron, where have-" Harry began, but seeing his friend's state of shock and Selene standing behind him, he seemed slightly taken aback. "Hi Selene. I didn't expect to see you here. Is Ron okay?"

"He asked Fleur to the ball." Selene explained, wincing. "She didn't take kindly to it. Unfortunately she's never known how to let someone down gently."

Hermione rolled her eyes, and Selene chuckled inwardly, wondering if she looked like that when she rolled her eyes. Harry raised his eyebrows disbelievingly, but when Ron didn't correct Selene he seemed to settle for resigned laughter.

"Mate, we need to hurry up!" Ron protested when he saw Harry's laughter. "Or all the good ones will be gone! I don't want to be stuck with Millicent Bulstrode!"

A look of realisation plastered itself onto Harry's face, and he looked around blindly, as if the perfect girl might present herself on a gold platter. "Yes Ron, but do you see any decent girls without a date?"

Ron's face lit up suddenly, and he whipped around to face Selene. "Selene, would it be okay if-"

Before he could finish his sentence, George Weasley walked up to the group. Nodding to Harry and Hermione and outright ignoring Ron, he turned to a very mixed up Selene. "Selene Malfoy, would you please give me the honour of being my date to the Yule Ball?" He asked, in a ridiculously posh voice.

Selene felt as if someone had whacked her around the head with a brick. George Weasley had just asked her to the Yule Ball. George. Weasley. Had. Just. Asked. Her. To. The. Yule. Ball. And now everyone was staring at her. Everyone.

She stood there carefully taking in this information for a while, before deciding. It was her best shot on getting Zabini out of her way, even if they were _just friends, _no matter what Cho was trying to ship. And she'd have a good time probably. He was hilarious, even if it did pain her to admit it. And also…

"Okay." Selene hazarded a little smile, unsure with what she was doing. "I guess."

Then, as quickly as he had appeared, he disappeared amongst the crowds of Gryffindors. Several people she'd never talked to before came up to congratulate her, patting her on the back like she'd just won them the Quidditch Cup.

"Oh." Ron said, attracting Selene's attention. "I was going to ask you. Oh well, they're lots of other fish in the pond."

"Sorry…" She apologised, feeling slightly embarrassed at this. "Um… I wasn't really expecting that. I was just going to go home for Christmas."

"Do you know anyone who isn't going with anyone?" Harry asked desperately. "Anyone? Anyone at all?"

Hermione shook her head quickly behind them, mouthing "I've got a date; I'll tell you later!"

Selene thought for a few seconds, mentally scrolling down the list of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who she knew. "Luna Lovegood… no, she's a third year, Padma Patil maybe… do you know her? Her twin's in Gryffindor, I think."

"Yes! Thank you!" Ron thanked Selene. "And you can…" He looked around shiftily. "Can you not tell anyone about Fleur? Thanks…"

"Oh, sure." She shrugged off. "Fleur will have forgotten about it by tomorrow anyway, she had about two hundred Yule Ball proposals in the last week alone. You weren't the youngest either."

Selene bid goodbye to Harry, Ron and Hermione, wanting to get a grip on what had just happened in the walk back to Ravenclaw tower.

Fleur was trying to get Selene to work out exactly what was underwater in the Second Task when Ron walked up and asked Fleur to the Yule Ball. Fleur had started to yell, and Selene had propelled Ron back to Gryffindor tower. She had explained the situation to Harry and Hermione, and then Harry had started thinking about Yule Ball dates. Then George had come up to her, Selene Malfoy, and asked her to the Yule Ball.

And she'd said yes.

"Crap." Selene swore, right in the middle of the corridor. "What happens if my parents find out? Draco will probably be at the Ball too, and the pact doesn't cover…"

Without thinking, Selene ran all the way back to Ravenclaw tower and the portrait, ducking inside the hole and making straight for her dormitory. She threw herself down on her bed, drew the curtains around it and flopped onto her back, staring up at the Ravenclaw-blue drapes above her. For a few moments, her mind was blank, consumed by the overarching blueness. Then her memory came flooding back, and the true pressure of what she'd dug herself into began to show.

This was bigger than a hole; this was the beginning of a tunnel to Australia. This was bad, very bad. And, unlike other people, she couldn't bring herself to tell George why.

She couldn't just casually say 'Oh, I'm sorry; I can't go to the Yule Ball with you'. It made her cringe just thinking that, let alone saying it to his face. But it was just so stupid, the deep mess she'd become embedded in. Why, why couldn't Draco keep his mouth shut?

She could imagine her parent's reactions, her mother quietly disappointed, that kind of anger that didn't need words, just a single look. Her father, furious, yelling and shouting, she wasn't worth their attention, she wasn't a true Malfoy…

"Am I, though?" Selene thought aloud. She was a Ravenclaw, that had been the first step in making her realise that maybe she wasn't like everyone else. Well, not everyone else. Sirius Black, her second cousin, had been a Gryffindor, but then again he was an escaped convict from Azkaban.

And the other person she could possibly follow was Aunt Andromeda, but she had been a Slytherin, and even she had believed Grandmother's convoluted theories for a while. And the other depleting factor is that she didn't even know the surname of the muggle-born man she married, let alone actually met anyone from her family.

Was she the first one of the Black family tree to understand that maybe, muggle-borns are people? Two of her best friends were muggle-born, and from what Hermione had told her, she would do anything for parents like hers. Parents that had normal, interesting jobs, not just a mother who spent all of her free time hosting lavish parties and a father who was an ex-school governor and stupidly rich.

But giving up her parents meant Selene also had to give up Draco, and she wasn't ever going to do that.

And, now she thought about it, her parents did have their good sides. Mother was sweet, and she never hesitated to take Selene on shopping trips that Selene hated, but enjoyed at the same time. Father understood about lots of her studies, and knew an awful lot about Transfiguration. They'd had a few understanding talks too.

But not many, and the last was about three years ago, when the Ministry had conducted that raid on the Manor. Thanks to Father's little cupboard under the dining room table, he had not been picked up on the numerous dark artefacts he owned. As much as she knew that those objects were better off being destroyed by the Ministry, she couldn't bear seeing her father in Azkaban.

She had been to Azkaban, just once, on Halloween the year she turned ten. It still made her shiver; thinking about the screams and the pained mutterings of the prisoners.

_I'm here._

_ The prison is big, black and forbidding. Even from here I can feel the depressing doom of the place wrapping itself around me like an unwanted winter coat. Mother's hand is taught, gripping mine like a lifeline. She is my lifeline in this grim place, this rock somewhere in the sea._

_ Dementors. As we move closer and Father presents the papers to the Dementor at the front gate, I can hear screaming in my head. This must be what they talked about, the 'affect' the Dementors had on people. _

_ Suddenly, a flashback appears in my vision. The laughing. Then I can see the prison again, and I am back in my ugly reality. But when my visions are as ugly as reality, maybe more so, then who am I to complain?_

_ We are inside now. It's cold, like you would expect for a place inhabited by Dementors. Mother is still clutching my hand, and I don't make any move to let go. She will keep me firmly planted on this world while my mind skips to the past. She always has. _

_ I take one step along the dark hallway. Screaming. I take another. Mad laughter. And another. Someone is crying over a body. The helpless tears of a sister. I can't pretend to understand how someone can stay here._

_ Thanking my parents for not making Draco come and letting him stay at home with Dobby, I find some small ounce of pressure that is needed to push me to that cell. I continue to walk, ten years of misery pounding in my ears._

_ "We're here." My mother whispers. "You can open your eyes now."_

_ I never even realised they were closed. And as I open them, my heart stops. Because, right in front of my own eyes, is the woman I hoped I'd never have to see again._

_ She looks up from her foetal position in the furthermost corner. Her face strikes fear into my heart, because I remember her all to well. I remember her when she wasn't sick, wasn't mad. When her eyes weren't devoid of emotion and her love wasn't wasted on someone who couldn't love her in return. She used to smile at me, when I was younger, and my problem wasn't evident._

_ When I wasn't rejected by my own family. Even now, even though my mother begs to differ, I know I am not like my father, my uncle, my aunt or my mother. I am my own person, and that brings shame to the Black family tree. _

_ But now her eyes are mad, her hair is messy and unkempt, and her face is twisted into an unpleasant leer._

"Selene?" Cho called, and Selene snapped out of it as quickly as she entered the memory. "Luna said you were up here."

Selene sat up, smoothing down her hair where the static electricity had frizzed it up slightly. It was now or never.

"Cho?" Selene opened the curtains and got up so she was standing only a few feet away from her friend. "I've got a date."

Cho's shocked expression reflected what everyone else probably thought. How in the name of Merlin's pants did she get a date so quickly? "Who?" She squeaked, after she'd got over the initial shock. "Is it Nott? I thought we agreed this, Slytherins aren't good enough for you."

"Calm down." Selene couldn't help but smile, even with the depressing memory hanging over her slightly. "It's not a Slytherin."

"A Ravenclaw?" Cho pressed, plonking herself down on Selene's bed. "Gryffindor, Hufflepuff?"

"Gryffindor." Selene explained, blithely wondering how long it would take Cho to work out who she was going with. She, along with the rest of the deprived Ravenclaws, had been trying to set them up for the last few weeks anyway.

"George?" Cho guessed, looking extremely happy. "Please don't lie…"

Selene looked away, taking the opportunity to observe a very interesting cloud. But, Cho was incredibly annoying when she just sat, looking at you, and it isn't hard to make Selene crack under pressure. So, carefully, being aware of her eardrums and mental stability, she nodded.

"I told you so." Cho grinned, and sprang up to envelope Selene in a big hug. "And now we can go dress shopping!"

"I already have a dress Cho." For once Selene thanked her mother for her forethought. "Mother got me one during the holidays, when she noticed the whole 'dress robes' thing on the Hogwarts letters."

"Oh." Cho seemed slightly dejected. "But you can still come with me and the girls right?"

Reluctantly, Selene agreed, but quietly started to calculate the different ways she could get out of it. Shopping was painful at the best of times, and with lots of overexcited Ravenclaws gushing over the different colours they couldn't wear, it quickly became unbearable.

Fred's P.O.V.

Fred ran a hand through his hair and continued to quiz his twin brother.

"Who are you going with?" He continued to ask, but George was not budging. "Oh, come on mate, it wasn't my fault that I wasn't around when you asked the lady."

"You won't like it." Was all George offered, looking a little guilty. "So I don't think it'd be a good idea if I told you. And no, she's not a Slytherin."

"Do I know her?" Fred continued to ask. "Is she in any of our classes?"

George chuckled quietly. "You definitely know her, and if I didn't know better you have a itsy bitsy crush on her, but I'm not entirely sure."

Fred rolled his eyes, finally giving up on the subject. He most definitely did not have a crush on whoever George was taking. For one thing, if he did, he'd know about it and act on it.

"Hey, Lee?" Fred began, pausing in his doodling of Snape getting strangled by a Gryffindor scarf.

"Yes Fred?" Lee looked up from his 'Transfiguration Homework' which was actually just ideas for their next branch of Skiving Snackboxes.

"What did the fisherman say to the card magician?"

"I don't know." Lee was mildly interested at this; he'd never heard this joke before, which was quite a stretch. "Something about how marvellously stupid the magician is?"

"Pick a cod, any cod." Fred revealed, laughing slightly. "Did you never pay attention in Muggle Studies?"

"Nah mate." Lee grinned. "I have a vague idea on why that joke is supposed to be funny though."

"It's not just meant to be funny, it is." Insisted Fred, finishing his doodle with a final flourish of his pen. "Ta dah! What's a frog's favourite drink? Croaka Cola!"

George regarded his twin for a few seconds before throwing down his quill and throwing his arms in the air. "I give up! I will tell you as long as you don't throw any more awful jokes at me."

"Do tell, dear Georgie." Fred rested his head in his hand, staring intently at his twin. "I don't have all day."

"Selene Malfoy."

Fred blinked at his twin for a few moments before falling off his armchair in shock. He had expected a lot of things, but not this. "What?" He choked out, glaring at George's laughter. "Just what?"

Everything was wrong with this. He just… he just… he felt annoyed, jealous even? Jealous? What was wrong with him? She was just a Malfoy, she was just a Malfoy… Closing his eyes, Fred tried to bring back some normality to his mind. Think about pranking Slytherins. That always worked.

"You okay?" George looked down concernedly. "You don't have concussion or anything?"

"I'm fine." Fred sat up and tried to keep his face blank. But inside, his mind was whirling with unwanted thoughts.

Why, of all the girls, did his brother have to pick Selene Malfoy, the prefect? The sister of one of the biggest stuck-up snobs in the whole of Hogwarts, not to mention a Slytherin. Daughter of an ex-Death Eater, if what his dad said was true. And probably the most annoying girl in the whole damn world.

"You don't have a problem with it?" George asked tentatively.

Fred laughed, without humour. "She's a Malfoy George. Of course I have a problem with it!"

"You know." Hermione cut in mysteriously. "You are being a total prick."

"Thanks Hermione." Fred laughed, not taking her seriously.

"I'm not kidding." Hermione added in a sharp voice. "She is a really nice person, and you are being a hypocrite continuing to judge her by her family's actions. If everyone looked at you like you were your father and obsessed with muggle inventions, how would you feel? You have made lots of stands in the past against people who are doing the exact same thing as you are doing at this moment."

"What do you mean?" Fred asked, genuinely puzzled. "You weren't hexed by her Hermione; you don't know what you're on about."

Hermione stood up so she was directly facing Fred. "I do. I have constantly been verbally attacked by Malfoy because I am a Muggle-Born, and Selene has never judged me on that. She never uses any terms that refer to blood status, and she has told me that she personally doesn't give a damn about any of that. And you famously pranked Flint because he judged Neville by his surname, and asked him why he sucked at DADA. And then, faced with a girl that has done nothing wrong in her entire life, you judge her because she is a Malfoy. And seriously, you provoked her, and you deserved it. She apologised to you as well, and you blanked her. Give her a chance Fred."

"But…" Fred could find nothing to say in his defence. "It's not just her bloody surname that's the problem. She…"

"What?" George prompted, a smirk appearing on his face. "Are you jealous?"

"I AM NOT JEALOUS!" Fred yelled. "I am most definitely not jealous! Why would I be? She's only…"

But was Selene 'only' anything?

"See?" George said, smiling satisfyingly. "I told you Lee. I believe you now owe me three galleons."

"Not yet." Lee shook his head vigorously. "I have to see living proof first, not just a vague idea of what is going through his head."

"What?" Fred asked, looking from Lee to George and back again. "What are you talking about?"

"They're taking bets." Lily supplemented from where she was sitting with Katie in front of the fire. "Dumbles has got twenty sickles on them two." She addressed this last comment to George and Lee.

"Interesting." Lee tapped his quill on the sheet of parchment. "Do all the teachers have bets then?"

"Most of them." Lily shrugged. "I hear through the grapevine that Flitwick has a galleon on you and me Lee. Sprout has thirty knuts on George and Ange for some reason, and I think Flitwick's bet on them too."

Fred rubbed his forehead. "What?" He repeated, but no one gave him any extra information. "Oh, okay. Just ignore me then."

He left the group eagerly chatting about betting and teachers, making his way up to the Gryffindor sixth year boy's dormitory.

"Why?" He asked the empty room, lying on his back randomly in the middle of the floor. "What the hell is going on with my life? Why is no one answering my desperate pleas for information?"

Being alone didn't really help Fred with his quest for a Selene-free mind. If her closed his eyes, he could just see Hermione's face, chastising him for his continued boycott of Selene.

And what were his other problems with her?

His mind came up unfruitful; apart from one little niggle at the back of his mind. He couldn't quite reach it, and however much he tried to grab it it began to drift away. It didn't matter anyway, she was going with George and he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

**Hello again!**

**I have decided! I shall give a one-shot prize to both the 30****th**** reviewer and a random pick from the next four reviewers! You will have to wait a little longer, but remember what I said last chapter and you'll be fine.**

**I chose the song title and song because the first few line of the song basically sum up the problems Selene is going through, even if they aren't clear. Also, the song is awesome, and I love Oasis!**

**Oh! The band names – My Charm Romance is the wizard equivalent of My Chemical Romance, One Spell = One Direction and Frankenstein! is basically Rammstein (German band). **

**Does anyone have any ideas, any questions, any wants? Seriously tell me what you want to see in 'I'll Love You For Forever' and your wish (probably) will become my command, unless it is completely improbable.**

**Fred Weasley: Come on guys; press the 'Review' button! The author has worked very hard, writing 4000 words in two days, and she needs reviews! Now, excuse me, I need to go and prank Draco Malfoy…**

**Heh heh. That last little part from our amazing Fred Weasley is a not-so-subtle hint about what may be occurring next chapter…**

**And – this is a bit off topic, but do you think I should do multiple stories or all in one? I'm going to take this up to Harry's 7****th**** year, and maybe, maybe do a next-generation. So, what do you think?**

**Aufwiedersehen!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	18. Chapter 17: Dresses and Shoes

**Hello!**

**So, I have come to a decision. But before I do; let's say thank you to my awesome reviewers. Number 1: kaitekayy123, heh heh heh. **

**Number 2: Kacey, in the name of Merlin that was a long review. I love both MCR and Panic! At The Disco too, so it sounds like we have the same music taste! And OMG you went to a concert! Wish I could, but, my mum won't let me. Yippee! - I love next generation stories but there aren't many good ones out there, which is why I want to write one. So… should Freddie live or die? Don't worry! You don't have to decide yet! But I need to know before I start the sixth book.**

**And number 3: maxie210, flattery gets you lots of places, but I'm wondering whether it works in this context… you are an awesome reviewer though.**

**Finally number 4: Mongyfish – you are my 30****th**** reviewer and you also win a one-shot, paired with the one for the random reviewer! Read the terms and conditions below; if it works out I'll try and combine them. And this chapter should be out soon.**

**Don't kill me… *quickly dives behind a large pile of Harry Potter books and DVDs* but I have decided that… **

**KACEY, you are the winner of this prize; ask me to create any one-shot form the Harry Potter Universe! It can be from this story group with my OCs or from the normal canon universe. And as I am feeling extra kind, you can choose from later on in this story too! So, just review back to me with your answer, and your wish shall be my command. WARNING! I don't do Sirius/Remus, Sirius/Snape, Draco/Harry, Draco/Hermione, so let's just say canon couples of couples from this story please! Sorry, I'll just suck at them.**

* * *

"I want to break free, I want to break free." - I Want To Break Free by Queen

Chapter 17: Dresses and Shoes

If there was on thing she hated, it was shopping.

And when your mother is obsessed with it and your parents are dirty rich, all you ever seem to do is shop. Ever. Paris, Madrid, Moscow, New York… the list is endless. Dragged round the endless shopping centres, the overly expensive and fancy dress shops. Selene thanked her lucky stars (not that she had any) that her mother had decided to leave her behind when she shopped for the dress.

But now she was obligated to repeat the ordeal along with all of her over-excited friends.

And, when you are stuck between weaving in and out of various dress shops and falling asleep while you're supposed to be giving your less-than-expert opinion on whatever costume they've popped up in, life could never be more boring.

"_Selene!_" Cho yelled into her friends' ear as Selene slowly became encompassed in her book. "Pay attention!"

"Huh?" Selene looked up sharply from her book and looked around warily. "Um… sorry Cho. What's the matter, have you sighted my brother again?"

Cho rolled her eyes and dragged Selene up by the arm. "Pay attention!" She repeated, sounding exasperated. "We need your help you know, your non-biased opinion. Now, seriously, pink or purple?"

"Purple." Selene said, on a whim, not really caring. "Both will look nice on you. You're the one who can wear multiple colours."

"It's not that bad. Blue, purple, green, they all look good with your complexion." Cho soothed, holding up one of the many dresses she was holding to Selene. "See, Marietta, look! Dark blue really brings out her eyes."

Selene face-palmed and tried not to go crazy at the never-ending quest for her friends to find her 'signature colour'. "Guys, I already have a dress so calm down. My mother thought I wasn't responsible enough to buy my own." She elaborated.

"She's right." Cho guided Selene back down to her seat again. "But we still need you. There is no way in Death Eater hell that you are going to leave us here while you go and peruse whatever book shop you are hopelessly infatuated with at the moment. No, you have to at least wait until we've narrowed our choices down."

Cho left Selene sitting down in her chair and walked back over to where Marietta was deliberating between three dresses, all a similar shade of green but all different styles, lengths etcetera. It really was lucky Selene was sorted, because she'd have gone insane by now of she had to actually shop for dresses as well as those two.

Her thoughts quickly began to drift back to the book, and within moments she was firmly planted in storyland again.

Books had always played a major part in her life, from when she was a young girl and had just discovered the unused library in the Manor's left wing, from when she was in France and she spent hours poring over books you couldn't get in Britain, to the old bookshop in Hogsmede. If you gave her a pile of books, you wouldn't have to worry about her for ours, a trick that her mother exploited often.

When she looked up again, Cho and Marietta were paying for their dresses, and beckoning anxiously to Selene. Selene got up, tucked the book into the bag that was full of various accessories and walked over, hoisting the bag onto her shoulder so her poor arm wouldn't fall off.

"What did you get?" She asked.

Marietta seemed more than eager to oblige and quickly held up her dress, and Cho followed suit. Marietta was wearing pink, and the dress was reminiscent of a princess dress, and Cho was wearing silver, a more Asian style dress.

Selene nodded, not really knowing what to say. She never was very good at making useful comments about appearances. "Great." She said truthfully. "Can I leave now? I really want to get a new book."

"What about Butterbeer and cookies?" Cho asked, pouting. "You _have _to stay for those!"

Selene groaned inwardly, but obliged, taking the bags that contained the dresses and unknowingly resigning herself to the occupation of chief luggage carrier for the rest of the day.

The three friends took a table on the furthermost side of the Three Broomsticks, Marietta getting up to buy the Butterbeer and cookies while Selene divided their baggage between three extra chairs. Cho took the seat right in the very corner of the room, and Selene took the spot next to her.

"So…" Cho began, turning to face Selene. "How did he ask you?"

"Oh, please Cho." Selene groaned, putting her head in her hands. "He just asked me, okay? I'm not even truly sure why I said yes, to be perfectly honest."

"But Seeelllleeeennneeee…" Cho whined, doing her best puppy-dog eyes. "You promised…"

"Okay." Sitting up slightly straighter in her chair, Selene took her face out of her arms and screamed mentally. Why was she cursed with such nosy friends? "Ron Weasley, you know him? Well, when I was with Fleur, he came up and asked her to the Yule Ball. Fleur…" Selene winced at this and fiddled with her sleeve. "…yelled at him. I managed to get him to the Gryffindor common room and I explained to Harry and Hermione what had happened. About ten seconds later, George came up to me and asked me to the Yule Ball, not unkindly but really, really publically. I said yes and… there you have it." Selene explained, tactfully choosing not to mention Ron's failed attempt to ask her. "It's not like I don't _like _him, it's just more platonic. I don't see him as anything more than a friend. Sorry Cho-ster."

Cho's eyes narrowed, like she was trying to work out exactly what was wrong with Selene and give her a detailed diagnosis. "I don't understand, you didn't mind when we started to ship you two, what's changed?"

"Nothing's changed!" Selene threw up her arms. "I stand accused of being extremely tired when you started that whole tirade, and being too wrapped up in schoolwork to notice much. And as far as I know, we are only friends."

"But why does he keep staring at you then?" Cho asked, exasperated. "Every Charms lesson, every Transfiguration lesson, every Potions lesson, he stares at you. And why wouldn't he like you, you're pretty, sweet-"

"Pretty?" Selene snorted. "Yeah. Right. I'm too tall for one thing, then there's my complexion which is much too pale, my weird combination of mouse-brown hair and blue eyes, and my lack of dating experience."

"Selene!" Cho glared her friend down. "You are my best friend, and if there's one thing I won't let my best friend do its put herself down. You aren't that tall, it just seems that way. You're only, what, 5'8"?"

"I'm 5'9"." Selene corrected.

"Still, not too tall!" Insisted Cho. "Your skin might be pale, but that's just genetics and it really looks good on you! And, for your information, your hair is not mouse-brown, it's hazelnut-brown. The combination of blue eyes and brown hair are not weird, and your dating experience is only down to the amount of books you read and your shyness."

"Thanks Cho." Selene murmured, not really feeling better but deciding to drop the subject. "I'm just not pretty, okay? If you want beauty, look at my mother. Look at Aunt Bella, before she went mad and got locked up. Look at you! I am by no means pretty."

"Three Butterbeers." Marietta plonked the three bottles down on the table. "One white chocolate chip cookie, one dark chocolate cookie and one fudge brownie cookie. Yum." Marietta added, looking down at her fudge brownie one.

Selene laughed, before taking a bite of her white chocolate chip cookie. There was just something about white chocolate that could take all of your worries away.

"How can you eat that?" Cho asked incredulously, looking at Selene's cookie in horror. "White chocolate isn't chocolate!"

"Get out!" Selene joked, pointing to the door. "You… destroyer of one of the heavenly foods!"

The friends sat in silence for about three seconds, before all of them burst into laughter. The regular fights between Selene's white chocolate and Cho's dark were overdramatic, overplayed and overused, but they never lost their funniness.

"Dark chocolate…" Cho waved her cookie in circles in front of Selene's face. "Lovely, scrummy dark chocolate…"

Selene made a swipe for the cookie, and Cho quickly withdrew it, hiding it away from Selene with the air of Gollum. "My precious…" She added for extra affect, and before you could say 'COOKIES!' they were all in fits of laughter again.

"What are the other heavenly foods?" Marietta asked, taking a sip of her Butterbeer.

"Right." Selene sat up again. "White chocolate's one, obviously. Then there's bacon, cookie dough ice cream, pistachio nuts and-"

"-Treacle tart?" Marietta suggested (un)helpfully.

Selene responded by hitting her with a nearby bag. "No, you fool! The last heavenly food is… tea. Liquorice tea."

"But liquorice tea isn't a food, it's a drink." Cho pointed out.

"Details, details." Selene waved a hand airily. "Ma cherie, liquorice tea is one of the seven wonders of the world!"

Cho rolled her eyes and aimed a kick at Selene under the table. "Yes, but it's not a food. If you made another mental list headed 'Heavenly Drinks' then it might make sense. But I digress, you can't keep eating the 'Heavenly Foods' on and off until Christmas! We girls have to suffer for our beauty!"

"Shut up." Selene grimaced slightly but ignored Cho's comment. Cookies were worth their weight in gold.

"OhmyRowena!" Marietta squealed, making Selene jump about six feet into the air. "We forgot the shoes!"

"Damn." Swore Cho, slamming her Butterbeer down onto the table. "How come we didn't realise that before? Anyway, we're kind of scuppered. Look at all of our bags, any more and our arms will drop off. The dresses, the accessories, the extra makeup…"

Selene shook her head in a pitying fashion. "My friends, you underestimate the power of magic." She took her wand out of her pocket and cast a quick shrinking charm and feather-light charm. "Ta da! Maybe my aforementioned skills can come in useful sometimes outside of school."

"You saved us!" Cho exclaimed dramatically. "How can we ever repay you?"

"By letting me go back to the school?" Selene asked dryly. "Or at least "loosing" me in a bookshop?"

"No can do Sel, no can do." Marietta giggled, placing one of the magically shrunk bags in her pocket. "We need to get shoes for you as well! Although, let's stay away from heels, right Cho?"

"Nope!" Cho said, popping the 'p'. "I dare say that maybe, just maybe, we can cross the danger line into uncharted waters. Well, not expressively uncharted but still we haven't explored them very much."

"Oh no…" Selene felt a familiar sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Can I go now?"

The other two shared a look before hurrying off to the shoe shop, telling Selene that only an unprecedented attack by Blaise Zabini was a relevant reason for her to even take a single step outside the door of the Three Broomsticks.

However, Selene welcomed this because even being stuck in a room full of chattering people is preferable to yet another shop with two annoying friends dragging you around.

It was a bit of a mystery how Selene had become friends with Cho, and even to this day she wasn't entirely sure how it happened. It seemed like one day she was the nervous new girl who no one would talk to because they thought she was an older, feminine version of her brother, and the next she had a close friend and a friendship group that came with it. Cho was the exact opposite of Selene; confident, cool, good at Herbology (!), pretty, girly, the full Monty. She wasn't obligated to hang around with Selene, who by even Ravenclaw's standards was incredibly geeky, but Cho did and within the year they were best friends.

And her friendship with Fleur… well, that was extremely complicated. The part-Veela had always had an interest in 'interesting people', and geeky English girls were part of that it seemed. Always so confident, Fleur had walked directly up to Selene on their first day at Beauxbatons and dragged her off to the dormitory they would share for the next two years, chattering excitedly about how fascinating England must be and how much Selene would love France.

And love France she did, the pain au chocolats, the croissants, the foreign food everyone else just took for granted, the day trip Selene took with the Delacour's to Paris and the amazing structures that seemed to tower wherever you looked. Without noticing, French culture had become such a major part of Selene's life and the language was second nature. She began to think in French, with the help of Fleur and Leanne. And then, after the meeting in Madame Maxime's office that morning on her thirteenth birthday, she became English again.

Now she was stuck in between, speaking English one minute and French the next, trapped in between French friends and English ones. She loved them all, but it was so _confusing_.

The door opened and Selene looked up eagerly, hoping Selene and Marietta had finally finished shopping, but unfortunately it wasn't them. Instead, Hermione Granger hurried in, shutting the door behind her to keep in the pleasant warmth of the bar.

She was on her own, which was unusual. Harry Potter wasn't standing on her left; Ron Weasley wasn't on her right. And as Hermione made straight for her, Selene realised that Hermione was here for her, no one else.

"Hi Selene." She greeted, sitting down in one of the chairs. "Are you okay? You looked a little freaked out when I saw you in our common room."

Shaking her head, Selene smiled and bit her lip. "No, I'm fine thanks. I was just a little bit overloaded then. I had just been asked to the Yule Ball."

Hermione cracked a grin. "So, you and George…?"

"Purely platonic." Selene insisted. "Nothing more. We are friends, nothing more. Also, his twin brother doesn't like me very much and he'd probably curse me if I starting dating George."

Hermione blushed at this. "I talked to him about that. He has absolutely no reason to discriminate against you like that. Yes, Draco is… a complete and utter prat but that doesn't mean you're automatically exactly like him. Fred once hexed Marcus Flint because he said something about Neville, and now he just stomps all over you because of one time. And if I didn't know better, I'd think he likes you." Hermione ranted.

"Liked me?" Selene did a double take. "Hermione, did you just say that you think Fred Weasley might like me?"

"He was acting incredibly strangely after George mentioned he was going to the Yule Ball with you. He fell of his chair, and then randomly stormed off. No matter whatever Ronald thinks, I do notice these things."

Selene felt like someone had just plunged her head underwater. "Okay. I'm going to pretend you just said "Fred Weasley doesn't mind you" if that's okay. It'll stop me going crazy trying to figure out something I definitely don't understand."

"That's fine." Hermione nodded her approval. "But I hope he at least doesn't hassle you anymore. He sometimes listens to me. But often he doesn't. Fred's okay, once you get to know him. He shouldn't be so derogatory towards you, but he's a nice guy. Just a bit… rules-optional."

"Thanks Hermione, for sticking up for me." Selene tried to sound grateful, and it worked. And she was grateful. "It's – it's a bit weird. I don't suppose you'd understand, but it kind of… really hurts me when Fred says all of those things. I don't even know why, it's just weird."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up into her mass of bushy brown hair. Obviously there was something about what Selene had just said that amazed her. "You have got to be kidding me." She gaped, staring at her. "Of course I understand, I mean. But just, wow. I'd never have thought that-"

"That what?" Selene's brow furrowed, as she tried to make some sort of context out of everything. "I don't like being judged as an older, slightly more nerdy version of my younger brother?"

"No!" Hermione resisted the urge to face-palm. "You really are clueless, aren't you? You're worse than Ron."

Shaking her head, Selene finished up her Butterbeer and regarded Hermione curiously. "Any luck on S.P.E.W.? Dobby, you know my family's old house elf? Dobby came to see me a few weeks back."

Hermione nodded briskly, easily slipping into "SPEW mode". "Harry likes that house elf, it's a shame he's not willing to do the same with the Hogwarts house elves too."

"Well, the house elves at Hogwarts seem happy with their jobs." Selene reasoned. "So it wouldn't do them any good making them give up what they love, but maybe you could try getting them wages? Maybe a few days off?"

"Exactly what I was trying to tell Harry and Ron!" Hermione exclaimed in exasperation. "But no, they both think I'm trying to get them out of work. When we were in the Top Box in the Quidditch World Cup, there was Mr Crouch's house elf. He fired her Selene, fired her for something she couldn't have possibly done. If that isn't discrimination I don't know what is."

"Some Wizarding families like to take advantage of their house elves." Selene added. "Mr Crouch blaming his house elf is one example, and my father used to like to get poor Dobby to punish himself for no reason. Not everyone does those things, it's just Father and Mother… well…"

"Something's happened." Hermione's tone softened. "You seem to avoid anything to do with them if you can, and you eve seem reluctant to speak to your brother."

Selene looked up in surprise. "Yes, something happened. But it really doesn't matter and it's something that I can easily fix. My main problem is my parents finding out who I chose to go with for the Yule Ball."

"Oh, are you sorted for dresses then?" Hermione asked keenly. "I am. I just hope the neckline isn't too low-cut, I don't really want to look like a fool. I'm wearing heels, I think. I really want to do something special as well, as it's my first real time doing anything girly."

"Me too. Marietta and Cho have been dragging me around every dress shop as far as the eye can see today, and they've only left me here on my "best behaviour". I can only leave if Zabini walks this way."

"Zabini?" Hermione prompted.

Groaning, Selene wished she had a large plastic bag to just hide in. "He kind of has a crush on me. He has since third year, when Draco first introduced me to all of his friends. He's asked me out about twenty thousand times, and he wanted me to go to the Yule Ball with him too."

Hermione choked back a laugh. "He's a bit young for you, isn't he? Also, you're about six inches taller than him."

"And I can't dance Hermione." Selene reminded. "I have about the dancing ability of a sock wearing a blindfold."

"That's not as bad as Fred." Hermione confided. "Between you and me, after the one of the Quidditch matches last year, he tried to dance and ended up giving two second years a concussion."

"How in the name of Rowena did he manage that?" Selene's mouth dropped open. "Are you sure he wasn't testing out of his new inventions or something like that? Because that is clumsy, even by my standards."

Hermione scoffed at this. "If you think you're clumsy, you should hear the tales about Lily Tonks' oldest sister. Nearly failed her Auror training apparently. Their mother must have an obscene amount of patience to deal with a clumsy Auror and an emo at the same time."

Something clicked in the back of Selene's mind. "Hermione, what's the name of Lily's mother?" She asked, holding her breath and waiting for the answer. Tonks… her mother had mentioned someone called Tonks quite often.

"I don't know, Andrea, or Andy or-"

"Andy?" Selene's blood ran cold. "Andy?"

_August. I know that much, as the sun is shining and everything seems fine, even if I can tell it is not._

_ My mother is pale, even paler than usual as she strides past me, walking straight into the living room, clutching a single sheet of parchment in her fist. There is something on that parchment that she wants no one to see, no one but her to read._

_ I follow her, almost unseen, sticking to the faint shadow of the door as my mother sits down in one of our armchairs. I have never seen her this eager, and yet so wary. _

_ She doesn't read the parchment aloud, as she often does when she reads her mail, but keeps it close to her as she frantically scans the words. I want to find out what that letter says, what it's contents mean and entail, but that only means punishment and that is something I could do without._

_ Then my mother slumps; and I am startled to see a couple of tears drip down her face. What has happened? Has someone died? Has someone found out about the mystical and dangerous objects hidden under our drawing room floor? Even me, a quiet and unassuming six year old, can tell what trouble would occur if anyone realised._

_ "Oh, Andy…" My mother whispers. "We're both so grown up now. Little Nymphadora, starting at Hogwarts and your little Liliana already five, and me with a smart little six year old Selene and a four year old Draco. Where did it all go wrong?"_

_ I feel a strange connection to those three names I do not recognise. I don't know those people, and yet they sound so real and alive in my mind._

_ "Andromeda…"_

"Andromeda?" Selene choked out, barely daring to believe it. "Is her mother Andromeda Tonks?"

Hermione nodded. "I think Lily's your cousin."

"She is." Selene whispered, remembering the moment when she over heard her mother crying over that letter. "Mother talked about an Andy when I was little. Aunt Andromeda. I've never met her, but I resemble her in a lot of ways. I found a picture when I was about eight. Mother, Aunt Andromeda and…"

"It's okay; you don't have to talk about it." Hermione said hastily. "I completely understand.

Selene shook her head. "I don't care it's just… I doubt Lily or Nymphadora even know I exist."

"They do." Hermione conferred. "At least Nymphadora does. They have to examine their family history for Auror training, see? So of course she knows you exist."

"Great."

"Anyway, enjoy yourself!" Hermione shrugged off the increasingly awkward silence. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

**Hillo!**

**No, that sucks. From the creator of melted cheese and honey sandwiches, the all new greeting "Hillo!"**

**And before you ask, yes, the Yule Ball is the next chapter. I just needed to wrap up the plot hole about Selene not knowing about her cousin who just happens to be in Hogwarts etc. etc. **

**Anyway, I'm going to post a link to Lily and Selene's Yule Ball dresses on my profile soon, so keep an eye out!**

**Review, you know you wanna!**

**See ya,**

**Eleanor xxx**

**P.S. Kacey and Mongeyfish, don't forget to tell me what you want in your one-shots! If it works out, they'll be separate but they might work together.. you never know…**


	19. Chapter 18: Revelations

**Yes! Yes! I know, I've changed the name. SORRY! But I had a sudden stroke of inspiration for the title and I changed both the title and the summary to better sum up the story. And I've decided on the one-shot front…**

**As well as the one-shots, I may do a prequel! Yes, it'll basically cover all the scenes from the first three books that Selene would be in; I mean, it's a small school after all.**

**I have a poll up on my profile; go check it out. It'll be open until about the 1st July for sanity's sake.**

**Kacey: well, thanks! It might take me a little while, but I have a few ideas. I'll get back to you at a later date. And I love Physics! But I'm a geek, so ignore me.**

**And BellatrixD – I'm glad you like it.**

**This chapter is especially for you all out there, my loyal fans! I owe you all so much!**

**Edited: as of 20/11/14**

* * *

"And if the answer' s no, can I change your mind?" - Change Your Mind by The Killers

* * *

Chapter 18: Revelations

Fred Weasley, fearsome prank master and bane of Filch's life, fiddled with his tie.

It wasn't every day Dumbledore chose to screw with the student population of Hogwarts and use a tradition that was vaguely annoying. Dancing… eurgh. He just shuddered at the thought, and after the great incident of '93, he and George had a pact that gave George rights to forcefully drug or film Fred if he ever began to dance.

They'd had to momentarily freeze that agreement now of course.

And it was Christmas, of all days. Christmas, and now he was going to be dancing. He had already been yelled at by some Slytherin Prefect who got a snowball in her perfect up-do. Snowball fights were meant to be fun, for Godric's sake, not a reason to yell at people. He, Harry, George and Ron had thrashed a few Hufflepuffs that had ventured out and were roped into a huge brawl.

Not to mention the robes.

"Why?" Fred asked, grimacing at his reflection in the mirror. "What is up with society nowadays Gred? Can't they let a guy dance in normal clothes?"

George mimicked Fred's expression, looking down at his dress robes in distaste. "I think McGonagall has deciphered a way to keep us from our pranking schemes forever." He said sadly. "Make us look like idiots."

Fred snickered slightly. "At least ours aren't in _maroon_." He joked, looking down at his black ones. "Ickle Ronnie, all grown up and on his first 'date', wearing _maroon_."

"Come on Forge, we'd better go or Ange will massacre you." George pushed open the door and bowed mockingly. "After you, my dear."

Fred shot a dirty hand gesture at his twin but made his way into the common room where surprisingly few people were. "Knowing her, she'll still be worrying over her hair." He pointed out, turning around to look at George. "I expect Selene will be meeting you outside the Great Hall."

George quirked an eyebrow curiously. "Did you just call her Selene? I thought Hermione had a little impression on you." He nodded. "Yes she's meeting me outside the Great Hall. " He confirmed, still looking at Fred a little strangely. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"I'm fine." Fred was taken aback at this abrupt comment and decided not to dwell on it. "Are we going to try and pull something off?"

"You read my mind." His twin nodded, willing to participate in some mischief. "I always thought we should have continued with Divination. Unfortunately two 'D''s said otherwise."

The twins shared an identical chuckle and an identical wink, before walking out of the portrait hole simultaneously, both thinking of different ways to prank the students and teachers of Hogwarts.

"When did you meet Selene?" Fred asked quickly, trying to keep his 'poker face' on. The last thing he wanted was George teasing him all night.

George shot him another curious look. "I sit next to her in Defence against the Dark Arts, remember? Professor Moody paired us up."

Fred face-palmed himself and managed a measured laugh. "Oh yeah, stupid me!"

"What's going on?" George looked concerned; evidently Fred's poker face wasn't effective against his twin brother and partner in crime. "You're acting strangely, really strangely. I've just swallowed a Looney Drop strange."

"No I'm not." He answered quickly, beginning the huge trek between them and the bottom of the staircase. "Why do you ask? I've never felt more normal."

"What? With that on?" George guffawed. "Come on mate. Let's get going before we miss both Ange and Selene."

An out-of-place sense of strange panic passed over Fred when George said Selene's name, making him mentally shake himself. No, that wasn't right; Selene Malfoy was the older sister of Draco Malfoy… pureblood society daughter and smart-arse. No one... special.

The Great Hall was extremely festive-looking, even more so than was normal for Christmas. The baubles glowed different colours, the tinsel adorned every square inch of the Great Hall, and it looked like a giant had thrown up a large amount of paper-chains everywhere. The Christmas trees, grown and nurtured by Hagrid, were bright red, blue, yellow and green. Even the suits of armour had discovered their wild side, and someone had enchanted them to sing and dance every so often.

George echoed both of their thoughts. "Bloody hell."

"Hi guys." Harry meandered up to them, looking like hell, tailed by Ron in what looked like something Aunt Muriel would wear. "Selene and Angelina aren't here yet, we got here a bit early."

"What are you wearing?" Fred snickered at his younger brother. "They were the height of fashion, about twenty centuries ago ickle Ronnie. You've got your time period wrong. Sorry."

Ron glared at Fred and shot his middle finger up at him. After all, you couldn't grow up with five older brothers and not pick up some of their everyday lingo. "Fuck off." He muttered, looking gloomy. "You're not the one wearing mouldy dress robes…"

"And luckily, I'm not the one who has to dance with you." George reminded, feeling a bit smug. "I've got the best partner I think, out of all of us."

"You know she just can't dance?" Harry asked. "Hermione was talking about it on Saturday, that and something about Lily."

"Is she worse than my dear brother?"

"Apparently, close." Ron cut in. "I'd watch out for your feet George, if the heights of some girls' shoes are any indication. One wrong move and… ouch."

Fred shrugged non-committedly. "She really can't be as bad as me, if the way those second years now won't look at me for fear of retribution are any indication. She hasn't fallen over lately anyway."

Now Ron, Harry and George were all looking at him funny. "Since when do you notice Selene?" Ron asked, aghast. "You've never done anything to that affect, well ever."

"He said something similar earlier. I have absolutely no idea what is going through his head nowadays." George shook his head sadly. "I think he's finally lost it."

Ron shrugged and went back to looking around randomly, gawping at what looked like actual icicles hanging from the chandeliers. The Patil twins turned up a couple of seconds later, and Padma looked in distaste at Ron's choice of clothes and Parvati just looked bored.

Angelina appeared miraculously, along with Alicia and Katie, and walked up to Fred with a grin on her face. She was wearing a long red dress, being very supportive of Gryffindor, and anyone had to admit that she looked stunning.

"Hi." She said briskly, in her normal fashion. "Hello George, Ron, Harry. Are you ready?"

She addressed this last question to Fred, who nodded quickly. "Just about. We were just waiting for George's girl."

"Who are you taking?" Angelina asked George, looking vaguely interested. "I heard you asked her in the common room, but that's all. Katie wouldn't tell me, said it's be a surprise."

"Ah." George looked shifty, and that was probably good, as Angelina had a strong sense of House companionship. She was likely to cut his head off for even considering a Ravenclaw as his date. "She's…"

There were a few sounds from the top of the staircase, and George and Fred turned around, hoping to see someone they could tease, like Flint or Roger Davies. Instead, Fred got the shock of his life.

Selene Malfoy was walking down the staircase towards them, next to Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe, looking terrified but amazing at the same time. Her dress was long like Angelina's, but a pale blue almost turquoise colour. It had silver detail around the top and her hair was loose and straightened. She was very pale, and it looked like her hands were shaking, a stark contrast to Cho's confident figure and Marietta's giggling.

Fred felt his mouth drop open. He never knew she could look so… beautiful. Next to him, George was smirking at his twin in satisfaction, but his eyes mirrored Fred's own. Complete and utter shock.

"That's the Ravenclaw chaser girl, isn't it?" Angelina spoke suddenly. "Scored three goals in our match against Ravenclaw last year. Then got hit in the back of the head by a Bludger their own Beater whacked. Was completely out of it for three days."

"Chaser? She plays Chaser?" George looked taken aback by this. "I never actually realised that."

Noticing George, Selene smiled and some of her nervousness disappeared. Cho and Marietta walked over to where their dates were, leaving Selene behind on the last steps of the staircase.

She took a deep breath and stepped forward, but lost her footing at the last moment and tripped down the last few steps clumsily. Fred surged forwards without thinking and managed to catch her before she hit the floor.

As his hands touched her waist, a jolt of something like static electricity ran up his arm and Fred nearly dropped her again. Selene blushed deeper than should ever be deemed possible and mumbled a "Sorry."

"Um…" For once in his life, Fred was lost for words. He didn't actually want to move from this awkward moment, stuck at the bottom of a staircase with his hands on the waist of a girl he supposedly hated. But before he could do anything embarrassing, he moved away quickly, holding his breath.

"Hi." She greeted, the blush fading from her face.

"Selene, this is Angelina Johnson. Ange, this is Selene Malfoy." George introduced the two girls toe each other, crossing his fingers that Angelina wouldn't go nuts at him. "Selene's a Ravenclaw." He added, rather uselessly as Angelina had just mentioned that she remembered her from the Quidditch match last year.

"It's good to meet you." Angelina nodded, smiling. "I've watched you play Quidditch, you've got a good technique."

"Thanks." Selene thanked, slightly taken aback at this show of kindness. "I'm not that good though, it takes a lot of work."

Fred's jaw dropped for the second time in a space of a few minutes. Angelina had never, never been this kind to someone in a different house before. Either the world was ending (and after a quick glance around, he assured himself that it wasn't) or Angelina had gone mad.

"Shall we?" George extended an arm to Selene and she took it. Fred's heart jolted for a second but he did the same to Angelina.

Inside the Great Hall it was like someone had decided to bring a portable snow cloud indoors and let it loose for a couple of hours. The atmosphere was incredibly festive. It seemed like everyone had chosen to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays, as the hall was packed and they had to squeeze in like sardines.

Everyone was still chattering excitedly, and awaiting the arrival of the champions and their partners. It was warm, despite the ice exterior, and Fred felt a little uncomfortable in his overly fancy dress robes. Angelina, on the other hand, looked calm and collected, just like she did on the broom. George was also looking overheated, but probably that was more down to being crushed in a crowd full of over-excited fourth years. Selene just looked…

Shaking himself, Fred tore his gaze away from Selene's face and tried to concentrate on something that wasn't weird. The chandelier, okay. It's made of glass. It's… big? No wonder he failed Muggle Studies so abysmally.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ludo Bagman called over the babbling crowd. Biting back the anger that made him want to go over and pour ice cold water over Bagman's cheating arse, Fred resigned himself to gritting his teeth and following the gazes of everyone else. "Please put your hands together for the Triwizard Champions and their dance partners!"

The whole hall began to clap as Cedric Diggory led Cho Chang into the Hall. Fred noticed the slight way Selene's mouth seemed to twitch as she observed her best friend with Cedric Diggory.

And as Viktor Krum led on with no other girl than Hermione Granger, she bit her lip slightly, in a barely noticeable way. Then when Hermione glanced over, she nodded, again almost unnoticeable, with that little smile on her face.

When Fleur Delacour flounced in with Roger Davies hanging on like she was a washing line, Fleur shot Selene a brilliant smile and a wink, and Selene coloured, but smiled again, a bigger smile this time. When she smiled her whole face seemed to light up…

Lastly, when Harry walked in with Parvati she stifled a laugh behind her hand at Harry's perplexed expression and shared a look with George.

The music began to play and Harry quickly began to dance a strange kind of waltz with Parvati, that failed, mainly because Harry was moving about twenty times as fast as his poor partner. Cedric seemed like a good dancer, as did Krum (Fred supposed that some Quidditch players had all the luck) and Fleur was great, although Fred had heard Charlie mention once that all French girls could dance. The rest of that postcard had consisted of reasons why he and George should prank Professor Lockheart, a large picture of Charlie's latest Dragon and a reminder that he needed new socks.

Eventually, Professor Dumbledore swept his long beard over his left shoulder – Fred wondering, and not for the first time, whether he ever plaited that white monstrosity – and offered his hand to Professor McGonagall. They were joined by Hagrid and Madame Maxime, Professor Karkeroff and a blushing Madam Pomfrey, and then Neville and Ginny. Fred could say a lot of things about his little sister, but she was a fair dancer.

George offered his arm to Selene, who accepted with an audible warning of her dancing skills or lack thereof. Fred watched them awkwardly begin to dance with a gnawing feeling of jealousy in his stomach, but grinned at Angelina, who begrudgingly nodded.

After about twenty seconds, Angelina looked like she was about to die of embarrassment. "You can't dance." She said bluntly as they narrowly avoided a head-on collision with Fleur and Davies. "At all."

"Thanks Ange." Fred sighed as he steeped on her feet again; today was really just a monument to his crap dancing skills. "Not much longer now." He gritted his teeth and risked a glance over to where George and Selene were "dancing".

They seemed to be having much the same problems as he and Angelina had, although they seemed to be having a bit of a laugh about it. Selene had no sense of the timings needed for a waltz, and kept accidentally hitting George. George at least had the grace to ignore these hits, and carry on like Selene was the best dancer known to mankind.

It had stopped. Fred apologised to Angelina again for all the injuries he may have inflicted on her and sat down before he could take someone's eye out. George flopped down next to his twin with a huge grin on his face.

"I tell you what, that girl can't dance to save her life but she is just amazing!" He grinned.

"Great." Fred said blankly as he watched Selene and Angelina talk about something or other. "At least you can dance."

Someone started up again and the twins mentally groaned. If they weren't severely mistaken they would be nursing headaches by the end of the night.

"OI! ARE YOU BORED YET LITTLE KIDDIES? WELL, 'ERE WE ARE, ALL THE WAY FROM GOOD OL' BIRMINGHAM…!"

Lots of people rushed up to the stage where a band had magically appeared.

"THE WEIRD SISTERS!" The band's crazy frontman yelled as the lead guitarist strummed some power chords. "LET'S ALL DANCE LIKE A HIPPOGRIFF!"

George immediately stood up and walked over to where Selene and Angelina were. A couple of seconds later they were all nodding and George led Angelina off towards the dance floor.

Fred glanced around for a few seconds, making sure that Malfoy or his cronies were no where to be seen, before quietly walking over to Selene. He wasn't totally sure what he was doing, to be honest.

"Hi." He said and she jumped and turned around to face him.

"Oh! Um… hi." She responded as she saw him standing there. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, why?" Fred yelled over the pounding music.

Selene looked slightly taken aback at his friendly tone. "You're talking to me, that's all. You're not hexing me, or bothering me. Not that I don't… oh, well, never mind."

He looked down at her (as tall as Selene might be, he still had a good four inches on her) slowly, watching the way her eyes would flicker from the dancing, to the stage, to the seats, quickly to him and back again. The light bounced off her eyelashes, and accentuated the bright, forget-me-not blue of her eyes. She had very pale skin, as did her brother, but it didn't make her look like a vampire, which was probably good or otherwise the minute Lily met her she would be trying to get Selene to bite her. She kept shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, and didn't seem to want to meet Fred's gaze.

"I'm sorry." He admitted. "Hermione brought to my attention the fact that I've been wrong about you."

Her expression said it all. "Thanks; and its okay. I shouldn't really have hexed you whether it was enjoyable or not." She said, with a little smile.

"Oh, so you enjoyed it then? I didn't think Prefects were supposed to enjoy stuff like that."

Selene blushed again, and met Fred's eyes for longer than a split second. "It was just… new that's all. I never had to hex Zabini, no matter how annoying he got. Draco manages to tone him down a bit."

At the mention of her brother, Fred's face fell slightly. "So, you're on good terms with your brother then?"

Nodding, Selene bit her lip. "For the moment anyway."

There was an increasingly awkward silence, added to by the background screaming and heavy rock music thumping. Neither of them really knew what to say, they had just apologised to each other after three months worth of hatred after all. Selene kept shifting from foot to foot and Fred fiddled with his collar gingerly.

A second or so later their eyes inexplicably flickered towards each other, but they quickly dropped their gaze and Fred returned to mulling over why his twin brother had inherited all the dancing skills to be held in the Weasley family, along with Ginny.

"Do you want to dance?" He blurted out suddenly, and Selene turned to look at him in surprise.

"That's probably not a good idea; I have the dancing ability of Voldemort in a blindfold." Selene admitted, before wincing as Fred shuddered. "Oh! I'm sorry, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Choosing not to mention her choice of nickname for the evil wizard, Fred grinned evilly and offered his hand to Selene. "I'm much, much worse. Come on; let's see who can take each other out first. Actually, tell you what, first person to actually give McGonagall a concussion wins a chocolate frog."

Reluctantly, Selene allowed herself to be dragged into the throng of screaming Weird Sisters fans. And there were an awful lot for a school of only around four hundred students.

"Come on…" Fred whined, stepping backwards for a second. "If I have to make a fool of myself you do too…"

Selene rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I guess."

"Great!" Clapping his hands together, Fred took one of her hands and shook himself mentally as he felt a little jolt in his stomach like he did earlier. They began to "dance", which for them was just moving from side to side and spinning each other around every so often. George caught Fred's eye and shot him a wink, before turning back to Angelina.

Selene giggled slightly as Fred stumbled backwards, and typically nearly knocking over a couple of fifth years, who shot a dirty look at the pair and went back to their rave. Raising his eyebrow, Fred took Selene's other hand and began to whirl her around madly, smirking at her obvious confusion and dizziness. She almost tripped over her own feet, but Fred managed to catch her before she face-planted the floor. Then she slipped slightly, which made him completely crack and he broke out into laughter at her state.

"It's not funny." She glared at him, but not coldly like she would have done before he apologised. It was slightly warmer. "I'm just… challenged in the dancing department."

"They should have a department like that at the Ministry." Fred nodded solemnly. "George could easily be head of department, and Angelina could be his deputy. Then we could just recruit everyone and everything with dancing feet."

Regaining her balance, Selene let herself be swept into a manic dance routine again. "Then they can place bans on people like us dancing. All in all, it'd be a very profitable enterprise."

"Oh, look at that." Fred gestured towards the side of the hall, where Percy was discussing something with Crouch and shooting dirty looks towards him and Selene's "dancing". "Percy disapproves of us trying to dance. Do you think we could get him into the idea?"

"Can he dance?" Selene stepped around a very frightened looking Professor Flitwick, who was getting chomped up by the crowd of screaming fans.

"Not to save his life, but he's not _quite _as bad as me."

As soon as the music had barely stopped, Selene was whisked off by a very excitable Cho Chang and Fleur Delacour. She sent a look she hoped looked apologetic to Fred as she was dragged off by her best friends.

"What eez going on?" Fleur smiled, her eyes twinkling. "'E likes you, _non_? Zat George Weezly?"

"That's not-" Selene started, but Cho began to squeal before she could get a word out.

"I TOLD YOU!" Cho looked like she was about to explode with pent-up matchmaking ability. "I told you he liked you!"

"Cho, that's not-"

"Sorry Sel, Cedric's waving me over!" Cho disappeared with a last squeak, leaving Selene alone with Fleur.

"George Weezly definitely like you, _ma cherie_." Fleur departed with a single nod and a suggestive wink.

Selene buried her head in her hands and wondered what in earth the world was coming to if her friends were convinced she fancied George not Fred and she couldn't get a bloody word in edgeways. Wait a second actually, did she just thi-

"I tell you Selene, Ronald can be so… _thick_!" Hermione planted herself onto the chair next to her friend. "Are you okay, by the way? George looked like he was trying to kill you, the way he spun you round like that."

"It wasn't George, it was Fred." Selene said, still trying to make sense out of her manic thoughts. "He apologised."

If Selene wasn't so confused, she would have laughed at Hermione's expression. "He apologised? Finally! I told him, I told him, he was being a hypocrite. Maybe Lee will be out of money by the end of the year."

"What do you mean; Lee will be out of money by the end of the year?" Selene asked in disbelief. "Sorry, I'm just a bit out of it. Fleur and Cho are both under the impression that I fancy George but I don't I-"

"You what?" Hermione's expression grew devious, like she was planning Draco's demise. "Come on Selene, you can tell me."

Selene shook her head. "I don't think I can Hermione."

"Of course you can!" Hermione threw her hands into the air. "I tell you what, you tell be what it was you stopped yourself from saying and I'll tell you why I'm so annoyed at Ron. I'm quite trustworthy, you know."

Finding her gaze wandering towards Fred's conversation with a red-haired girl, Selene reluctantly nodded at Hermione. "I'm not one hundred percent sure Hermione, and you can by no means tell anyone, not even Ron or Harry. Not Ginny, not George, not Fred, not anyone. This has to be strictly between us."

"My lips are sealed."

Selene took a deep breath and met Hermione's eyes. "I think… I…"

"What?" Hermione asked in an impatient tone. "I don't have all day."

"I think I like him." Selene whispered, so only Hermione could hear.

"Who? George?" Hermione inquired, interestedly.

"No, Fred." Conferred Selene, and even as she said it, she could feel her cheeks burning. "I think I fancy Fred Weasley."

There was complete silence between the two friends as Hermione began to process this new information. Her face went from confusion, to shock, to quiet contemplation, to amazement and to excitement all within a very short space of time.

"Merlin's pants!" She exclaimed; which shocked Selene considerably. "No, don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But, oh my gosh this is great!" Hermione observed Selene for a few moments. "Don't ask why, that would just be awkward. Oh, I'd better introduce you to Lily!"

The conversation changed topics abruptly. "Lily!" Hermione called. The red-haired girl who had been talking to Fred turned to them. She said something to Fred, then began to walk over to the chairs.

As the girl drew nearer, her features became more distinct. Her hair was almost a strawberry-blonde colour, but her hair was dark enough for her to be classified as a red-head. She had light green eyes, and was of about middling height. She was wearing red too, but her dress was much shorter than Angelina's.

"Lily, this is the girl I was telling you about. Selene, I'd like you to meet Liliana Tonks."

The red-haired girl grinned suddenly like the Cheshire Cat, and spun to Selene. "Mum told me about you." Liliana greeted. "I'm your cousin, aren't I? Call me Lily, by the way, only your dearest brother and my annoying mother call me Liliana." She scowled. "But at least I'm not Dora. Dora's my older sister, by the way. Left a few years back, she's in her last year of Auror training."

"Well, I'm Selene Malfoy. It's nice to meet you." Selene smiled warmly. "I'm sorry I haven't had the opportunity to talk to you before now, my parents are big on blood status."

"You look like my mother." Lily nodded, like she was confirming this suspicion. "Yes, and a bit like my sister when she's not messing around with herself. Anyway, it was nice to meet you! I'll write to my mother soon, tell her about meeting you and all of that. Sorry, I have to go; some hot guy from Durmstrang is waiting!"

And with that parting comment, she departed. Selene valiantly chose not to ask Hermione any of the momentous amount of questions she had about that last conversation.

"He's coming over here!" Hermione squealed into Selene's ear. "Fred's walking over! Come on, look up!"

Loath as she was to admit it, when Selene did look up a little piece of her confidence crumbled away. She had only realised about fifteen minutes ago, but she possibly might have fancied him for much longer. God damnit, it was all so confusing. It could've been in the Top Box back in August, or in the Entrance Hall in September. Maybe even when she hexed him. But what she definitely, definitely knew, was that she had unconditionally fallen for Fred Weasley.

**Oh. My. God. That was a lot better than I thought it would be. Also, I hope you enjoyed all of that! I can't dance myself, but I think I have a little sense of rhythm.**

**So, you are now reading Unconditionally, which I think is a much better name for this story. I might go back and edit the first three chapters if you think it needs it.**

**I only got two reviews for the last chapter; can I try and get five for this one? Bad or good, they're still reviews! And reviews = happy Eleanor = more updates and funny things!**

**And, as a little heads up, it shouldn't be much longer now. Thank you for sticking with this story for so long! You, my readers, reviewers, followers and favouriters, are my favourite people in the whole world! Let me know what you think about the prequel, and scenes from the first three books that you'd like to see in it!**

**I loved this chapter, it was really fun to write! My longest yet!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	20. Chapter 19: For The Love Of Merlin!

**Well, hello!**

**I'm sorry to report that I only got three reviews on my last chapter; oh come on guys! I know you read this story – I've recently passed 5,600 views! (Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story. If you didn't think the first three chapters were up to scratch, let me know!) – So can you review? PLEASE?**

**Okay, rant over. Thank you to Kacey, the prequel will take a bit of work, but I'm glad you think it's a good idea. If you have any suggestions, please tell me. **

** , short and sweet. Even short reviews mean the world to me. Thank you, and keep reading!**

**bellatrixD – heh heh, maybe the Weasley twins are smart enough to be in Ravenclaw themselves. I will add a bit of romance between George and Angelina, if I can think of any good ideas. And I have an awesome idea for how her parents find out…**

**This chapter has a bit of Frelene fluff (HOORAY! A SHIP NAME!) and Selene/Draco interaction that badly needed to be written. So, read and review! **

**And I don't own Harry Potter! Oh, godamnit it was a dream…**

* * *

"You were everything that I wanted." - My Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne

* * *

Chapter 19: Oh, for the love of Merlin!

The fall out from Christmas was eventful, to say the least. First and foremost, everyone in Ravenclaw was convinced that something was going on between Selene and George Weasley, despite her many protests to the contrary. Then someone had announced that Apparition lessons would be starting at the end of January, and finally the teachers seemed to be lobbing even more work upon the sixth years.

"Six feet?" Cho gaped, looking down at her homework diary. "Six feet?"

"Think yourself lucky." Selene grimaced down at her pile of subject books darkly. "I have to produce a perfect Protean Charm by next Wednesday; Transfigure my fork into a bloody elephant by Tuesday and Snape's set 4000 words on the magical properties of Felix Felicis. Not to mention Fleur's still at my back most of the time wanting to review spells and charms she could use for the Second Task. But I think I'm coping." She added, after seeing Cho's incredulous expression. "I'm already halfway through Snape's essay."

Shrugging, Cho turned back to her six foot long essay for Hagrid, which was unusual. Normally the mild-mannered, easy-going Care Of Magical Creatures Professor only set the bare minimum of homework. Even his NEWT students had an easy time of it.

Within minutes, the noise in the common room had filtered down to a bare minimum, save for quiet conversations and discussions about homework and the occasional giggle from a first year. The level of noise made the Ravenclaw common room an easy place to work in, but unluckily these periods only lasted for about half an hour a day, sometimes an hour.

Selene glanced at her watch after she'd completed her essay, noting the time and quickly packing up her quills and spare parchment, casting a quick ink-drying charm on her homework. "I have Prefect patrols." She explained after Cho looked up in surprise. "I think I'm down on the third floor tonight."

Cho nodded quickly, and turned back to her abnormally long piece of parchment. Selene ran up the stairs to the sixth year girl's dormitory and tripped over someone's tie before she could reach her side of the room.

"Ouch, who put that there?" She muttered, stepping around the tie and shaking her head. "I swear, can they never put their stuff away? It looks like someone's set off a bomb in here."

Most of the beds weren't made, and pillows were strewn over the floor from a mad pillow fight they'd had a couple of days ago. There was a massive pile of blankets in the furthermost corner, most likely to prepare for their next "Blanket-Fort Weekend" and somehow Cho's full size poster of The Weird Sisters had been turned bright orange from somebody's spell experiment.

Escaping from the crazily decorated room as fast as she could, Selene walked back down the steps and over to the noticeboard, tracing her name across from the date to her patrol position for the night. The Dungeons, funnily enough. Did the Head Girl and Boy deliberately place her down there, knowing that no one would beat her up or anything?

She left the Ravenclaw common room, walking towards the stairs in quiet contemplation. Would it have made any difference if she was in Slytherin whether her family would have accepted her values? She doubted it; for one thing Selene probably wouldn't be a very good Slytherin, not being very cunning or pureblood-centric. Draco was a good Slytherin for those very reasons, he had snuck out of his common room so many times to meet his sister in the Trophy Room without getting caught if he wasn't cunning her father was a house-elf.

No one seemed to want to venture out of their common room that night. The night was dark and the lights were dim down in the Dungeon corridors. Selene only had to walk up and down a few times to confirm her suspicions that no one was there, and produced a shrunken-down book from her pocket, sat down by the wall and began to read.

"Oi!" Someone whispered, making Selene jump. She pocketed her book again and slowly stood up. "Come on, we need to hurry up!"

"I told you, no one patrols down here at this time, they're always gone by nine." Another voice whispered back, slightly louder. "And it's half nine already."

"We should at least try to be quiet." The first person protested, and Selene took a step forward to try and confirm the voice. "Slytherin's do sleep."

Realising who would be stupid and reckless enough to be down in the Dungeons at this time of night, Selene coughed.

"Was that you?" The second voice asked, slightly quieter.

"No, it was me." Selene spoke. "_Lumos._"

Quietly indignant, the faces of the Weasley twins stared back at Selene. She quickly swallowed, hoping that they didn't notice her reluctance to look at Fred. They were obviously shocked at her mysterious appearance.

"Hello Selene!" George recovered first and grinned innocently at the Prefect. "Lovely day I mean night, isn't it?"

"It's about minus three degrees down here." Selene blinked. "What are you two doing?"

If it was possible, the innocent looks they had became even more so. "We heard you were patrolling down here-" George began.

"-And I – we wanted to come and say hello!" Fred finished, his face turning slightly red. "Um, hello!"

"Hi. What are you really doing?" She asked again, guessing the correct answer in her mind. "Because if you wanted to come and say hello you would've done it at lunch, or dinner, or sometime that isn't stupid."

"But I wasn't at lunch or dinner!" Fred proclaimed dramatically. "No, I was doing, dare I say it, HOMEWORK!"

"No, you were at lunch and dinner it was George who wasn't."

The twins looked at Selene in complete and utter astonishment. Fred's jaw dropped open and George almost fell over. Never, in their whole life, had they found someone able to do anything like that before. Their mother could on occasion, but hardly ever. And now they were standing in front of a completely random girl who could tell them apart.

"Bloody hell." They said together. "We've always wanted to find someone who can tell us apart."

"But why are you actually down here? It's after hours; you should really be in your common room."

The pair shared a look, and they seemed to participate in something that resembled a mental conversation that included lots of eye-rolling and shocked expressions. Then, finally, they spoke out loud.

"We were going to turn Snape's office red." Fred admitted. "I mean, we will if you let us. Will you?"

Something in his voice made Selene melt like butter, and she was proud of herself for not collapsing in the middle of the corridor at his look. Oh, for the love of Merlin this was not good. She could barely compose herself around him, let alone hold a decent conversation with Fred. And now Hermione wasn't around to talk for her, to stop Selene making a fool of herself. It was like her tongue had been glued to the roof of her mouth when she stood there, saying absolutely nothing and feeling a little bit embarrassed.

"Are you okay?" George cut in, looking concerned. "You've gone speechless on us again, haven't you? Come on Freddie, we need to get her to the Hospital wing, there might be something seriously wrong with her!"

Selene regained her speech just in time to prevent this. "No, I'm fine!" She blurted out suddenly. "Oh, yeah, sure, go turn his office red. It'll be funny."

With a grin and a wink, George departed for Snape's office. Fred hung back for a couple of moments, rubbing the back of his neck gingerly. "Erm… I'm sorry if we get you into trouble." He apologised, feeling slightly foolish. "Uh, yeah. That's all."

"Um, yeah, that's okay. I mean, not the whole getting me in trouble part, that's not okay, but the apology part, that's okay. No, I don't mind, Snape hates me anyway, but… oh screw it, its okay."

A smile twitched at the corners of Fred's mouth. "You seemed a bit lost for words there Selene. Are you sure you're okay?"

She could see, in her mind's eye, her face turning a delightful beetroot red. Damn her genes and her constant blushing. She blushed at pretty much everything, but she seemed to turn a tomato colour every time she was around Fred. And knowing her belated luck, he probably noticed.

"I'm fine." Selene nodded to add to this statement. "Are you? I mean, it's pretty cold down here and you just called me Selene so…" She mentally whacked herself at the ultra-obvious comment.

"What? You want me to call you Malfoy again, Malfoy?" Fred asked, with a smirk. "That won't be hard."

"No, it's fine, just a bit… unexpected. So, er, can I call you Fred?" Selene stumbled over her words, willing herself to stay composed. "That is, if you're okay with that, I mean. Um… yeah."

Stepping forward, Fred positioned himself so he was directly face-to-face with Selene. "That's fine, but I'd rather you called me love."

"Um, sorry but no, I think I'll try Fred first." Selene found the right words for the first time. "Have fun, Fred. I'll see you… um, sometime."

It took her a few minutes to calm her breathing, and another couple of seconds to force herself to look normal again. She had another twenty minutes of this, hopefully Fred would take longer. She couldn't really face seeing him again tonight; she'd probably done enough damage with that short conversation.

"Selene?" Selene looked around for the person who had said her name, her eyes coming to rest on the corner.

"Draco? What are you doing here?" Her voice was high-pitched and panicky. If he was there, right there, he probably saw her talking to the twins.

"Why were you talking to them?" Draco asked; his tone blank and devoid of emotion. "The Weasley twins, why were you talking to them like that? Like you were… friends?"

"Draco, I-"

"You know exactly what I mean!" Draco snapped suddenly. "Blatantly standing there, in the middle of the corridor, talking to people way below your status! More then talking, that filthy blood traitor had his paws all over you, Salazar, he was _flirting _with you, and you just stand there like you _don't mind!_"

"What if I don't mind?" Selene found herself saying. "I… Draco, can you just leave me alone for once?"

"But Sele-"

"Draco, what do you know?" She suddenly asked, her patience snapping. "Yes, my best friends are muggle-born, I wanted to take Muggle Studies, I went to the Yule Ball with a Weasley and now I fancy a Weasley, but so what? Mother and Father just want me to marry Theodore Nott, have a happy little pure-blood bigot family with him and never question anything. But have they ever considered what I want? Because I want to be happy."

Draco's face twisted into a sneer. "Why can't you just be normal, like Mother wants you to be? A normal, Slytherin daughter. But no, you had to be in Ravenclaw, like the smart-arse you are, question everyone's motives and never accept your life. I did a long time ago, and I've never been happier."

His obvious lie crumbled something inside Selene's mind. She might want all of that. She might want happiness, and love and people who wouldn't sell her out for her money, but first and foremost she was an older sister. And she had a duty to her younger brother, one that couldn't be ignored.

"I'm sorry." Selene wrapped her arms around her brother's tall figure slowly. "I'm sorry I could never be the person our parents want me to be. And I'm sorry that the decisions I've made have hurt you, or given you the idea that I'd give you up. You know I love you, and that I'd never do that, and for that reason I hope you'll understand when I ask you not to tell Father or Mother. I'll sort things out soon, I promise."

"I love you 'Lene." He murmured into her blue robes. "I just don't want to be alone in this. What father wrote to us about… to be honest, it scares me. He normally hardly ever keeps the information that secret. It has to be bad news, or something that will affect us."

"Drake, I promise that the news won't be bad for you, or for me. It'll probably just be something new Father has against the Weasleys or Harry, okay? He is always on the lookout for information of that kind, no matter the feelings I have against it. Now, you'd better get off to your common room before I have to give you detention."

Draco stood back from his sister's hug reluctantly. "You wouldn't do that." He reminded, smiling properly, not the forced smirk he wore among his cronies. "You're too soft. You're like a big, fluffy white marshmallow."

Rolling her eyes fondly, Selene watched her brother walk back to his common room. He wasn't the happiest if kids, Harry and Ron didn't know how lucky they were, surrounded by real friends, not just people around for their money.

Fred's P.O.V.

Selene. If only she didn't reduce to a stuttering mess every time she saw him. It was his own fault after all, being such a git and refusing to see her as a person, but just as a pureblood bitch. And now she was probably terrified of him if her actions were worth thinking about.

Every time he thought that, Fred felt compelled to whack himself with the nearest thing available, even if it was a huge library tome. Why, why, why did he have to be such an idiot sometimes? She was the opposite of everyone else in her belated family, sweet, kind, and now apparently her friends were busy setting her up with George.

His twin brother was luckier than he knew. If George had a chance, then normally Fred would be supportive and even help him along the road a little if he could. But this, this was different. He couldn't just stand by and watch, and wouldn't ever consider helping. Because, for once, he'd screwed things up before they'd even begun. Way to go. And Angelina had dumped him too, not that he was telling anyone that.

Thinking back to their last conversation, which had alerted Fred to her panic whenever she was around him, he very nearly hit himself with his wand. Had he seriously asked her to call him 'love'? Seriously? This wasn't how all those Muggle bloody fairy tales went. Basic plotline: girl meets boy, boy meets girl, and they fall in love, all 'Happily Ever After'. Not girl meets boy, boy acts like a git then apologises, and girl becomes terrified of boy and goes off with boy's twin brother.

"Are you okay Mr Weasley?" Professor Flitwick squeaked, his head appearing from above the desk. "Not having any trouble with those Cheering Charms are we?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine thank you Professor." Fred shook his head and heaved a sigh of relief as the tiny Professor walked away. They were supposed to be focusing on an area of the curriculum they had previously struggled with and work to improve on them. As he'd basically failed most of his first four years of Charms, he had a lot of ground to cover.

He poked the hedgehog he was supposed to be 'Cheering' in annoyance, and the little spiky guy glared back up at him. "Great, now you hate me too."

"Why are you talking to a hedgehog?" Lee quirked an eyebrow at his friend's attitude.

"Never mind." Fred groaned and let his mind wander from the indignant animal, his eyes landing on the girl at the very front of the classroom who was successfully casting a Protean Charm on something or other. Professor Flitwick stopped at her desk and made a few comments, but evidently deciding that it was probably perfect, gave her thirty points to Ravenclaw. Snape wasn't the only guy to favour his students sometimes.

"Selene…" The Asian witch from next to her poked her friend anxiously. She was whispering, but her voice carried over the classroom considerably. "He's staring at you!"

"Shut up Cho." Selene muttered, but she quickly glanced behind her and Fred saw a glimpse of her face, almost bright red. "That's not even him Cho, he's Fred."

"Yeah, right." Fred could hear Cho rolling her eyes from here. "Fred hates you, remember?"

Selene shook her head quickly, glancing behind her again. "It's kind of a long story."

She looked behind her for a third time, and Fred caught her gaze momentarily sending what he hoped was a friendly grin in her direction. But no, she coloured even more, if that was possible, and managed a weak smile before turning back to Cho. This time Fred did whack himself with his wand.

"Shit." He swore, poking the hedgehog again. "Come on, cheer up or I'll use you to prank Filch."

The hedgehog looked up at him, obviously not amused and proceeded to eat Fred's Charms textbook.

"Okay, if you're not going to co-operate." Sending a glare in the direction of the little animal, Fred rolled his eyes and levitated it to one side, before turning to Lee. "Why are hedgehogs so annoying?"

Lee shrugged, containing his laughter and closed his book with a snap. "That girl down there, Selene right? The girl George went to the Yule Ball with. If I'm not completely mistaken, then you like her."

"How'd you guess?" Fred asked sarcastically, giving the hedgehog two fingers. "Forget about it, she hates me. Right idiot I am."

Not seeming convinced but nevertheless obeying Fred, Lee checked his watch and let out a little groan. "Another half an hour."

"No fear!" Fred grinned, producing a brightly wrapped sweet from his pocket. "The prank-master is here!"

Lee let out a stifled chuckle at the horrendous rhyme as Fred un-wrapped the sweet, placing it on the desk in front of them. Everyone else was too preoccupied with their spells to notice what Fred was up to, and he took full advantage of this. "_Aguamenti._" He muttered, pouring a jet stream of water over the sweet and shifting his chair back slightly, motioning for Lee to do the same. "We developed these a couple of weeks ago." He explained as the sweet began to fizz. "Remember that Muggle popping candy you showed us? This is a slightly more explosive version."

The desk began to pop loudly, attracting the attention of the class. It slowly began to emit steam, then began to lightly smoke, before it rocketed up to the top of the class with a loud bang. Some girls, including Selene's friend Cho screamed at the bang, but the majority of the small group were raptly staring at the runaway desk.

Without warning, the desk catapulted down to ground level again, then spontaneously combusted in a cloud of dust that smelled like burning eggs. There were a few seconds of incredulous silence before some began to laugh, and Fred stood back to smirk at his handy work.

"Mr Weasley!" Professor Flitwick squeaked over the laughter. "That was extremely dangerous! Detention tonight, at seven. I can't believe your audacity!"

Fred couldn't find it within himself to care as they left the classroom, and he purposefully caught Selene's eye. When she looked up at him through her eyelashes, he could swear she was holding in laughter. But before he could catch her, she was moved out of the room by Cho. Maybe he could sympathise with Harry on this, but at least Selene wasn't attached to those Ravenclaws 24/7. Make the best of things, like his father would. And now he knew where she patrols on Prefect duty, he could exploit that if the worst came to the worst.

What was the world coming to? He had to make detailed, deliberate plans simply to speak to someone. Not just anyone, a someone though. He had to pay attention to every miniscule detail of her timetable, and luckily he shared three lessons with her. Unfortunately one of those was run by a fearsome ex-Auror, one by the squeaky head of Ravenclaw and one by the stern Professor McGonagall.

For the love of Merlin, this was futile. It's stupid, stupid. The countless times he found his mind wandering to her every day, or just mulling over that weird conversation they had in the Dungeons. Spending a couple of seconds berating himself for things he couldn't help. You can't turn back time, after all.

Selene's P.O.V.

"Did he just blow up that desk?" Cho squealed in excitement. After they had walked out of Charms, she had insisted on running over every single thing that had occurred. "You might be really inexperienced but you must be doing something right Sel, he couldn't keep his eyes off you!"

Selene tried to outwardly keep an impression of boredom, but inside she was even more hyperactive than Cho. There had been some down points to that lesson, one being her deep blush when she turned around to look at him. Oh, holy Rowena, she wished someone would make it easier for her to get over him. He was everything she was against, as a studious Ravenclaw Prefect. Charming, prankster, mischievous. And why would he even look at her twice, a pale, geeky, clumsy girl with the romantic ability of a Hippogriff on steroids? The Yule Ball had been a one-off, she kept insisting to herself. Just a way to apologise. But when she did manage to meet his eyes it was like he was smashing down the mental walls that she kept up around almost everyone, piece by piece. His smile just kind of made her melt inside, a lopsided grin that was out of place on anyone except him. Cho had talked about how she felt around Cedric, but Selene doubted she felt so damn shy around him. It would take her years to build up the courage for a simple conversation if she didn't shape up soon.

"Hmm…" Selene summarised her thoughts. "I… I don't think so Cho. For one thing, he's Fred, not George. George takes Herbology."

"No." Cho said, definite. "That is definitely George. Fred is only on barely speaking terms with you."

Selene nodded outwardly, not really listening, but inside quoted directly from the conversation. And how could she even tell them apart from such a distance? It was easy when Fred wore a permanent sneer when he saw her, but now he was acting normal towards her, or as normal as you could get when you spend your Charms lessons staring at someone.

Cho opened her _Daily Prophet _and gasped at the article inside. Selene peered over her shoulder in interest, only to step backwards into Roger Davies when she saw the headline.

_Dumbledore's Giant Mistake_

"No." Selene scanned the article. "What the- attacked by a Hippogriff? It wasn't even that bad a scratch; they healed it in no time! Draco was just playing it to get sympathy. And how is he even talking to that… that _harpy_! She's not even allowed on school grounds."

Selene looked around wildly, wondering whether someone was going to jump out from behind a tapestry and shout "JANUARY FOOLS!" It just didn't make sense; Draco wasn't one to go as low as to destroy the reputations of two perfectly nice people, and good teachers.

She wondered whether her parents knew about this, and if they did whether they cared. No, that was a stupid question. Of course not, Father had alluded to 'that great oaf's' incompetence so many times, he was probably celebrating with a glass of expensive champagne as she thought.

"Sorry Cho, I need to go." Selene apologised, setting off at a fast walk towards the library, and where she thought Hermione would be. Cho wouldn't understand why she was obsessing over the miniscule details, but Hermione had the ability to realise why and help her to stop. Even though many Ravenclaws considered Hagrid a joke, why does that give them leeway to boycott against him, even if he was half-giant?

Draco had gone too far this time. She couldn't stop him heckling muggle-borns and Gryffindors, but she did have enough power to prevent him from downright destroying people's careers and reputations. And he knew that, and if he was human, then he should feel some small scarp of remorse.

She opened the door to the library a little too forcefully, and Madam Pince hushed her loudly, glaring at the girl who had the audacity to slam the door open. Murmuring an apology, Selene took the route through the History section of the library, looking around to try and spot Hermione among the bookshelves.

It seemed like everyone was at lunch, because Selene was easily the only one in the library. She stayed for a few extra minutes, checking the corners of the library in vain hope to find her Gryffindor friend. But she eventually gave up and left the room, wondering where in the Founder's Hogwarts Hermione was.

Alone with her thoughts, Selene's mind switched automatically to her predicament with a certain Weasley. It was bloody confusing, the craziness that seemed to crowd her mind nowadays. Ever since Christmas night, to be exact. Ever since she realised…

"Calm down." Selene told herself. "Calm the heck down."

There's no point in trying something that you won't ever be able to complete, and Selene realised that with a pang. Her mind was just mad, filled with memories of times he'd smiled at her, talked to her, etc. etc. Thank Rowena no one could read minds, which she knew of. Her thoughts would be much to embarrassing to explain in any amount of detail.

Defiantly ignoring the larger part of her mind that was devising a way to get her to go out with him, Selene walked around the corridor and walked right into someone.

**And so ends Chapter 19! **

**And my first cliff-hanger! I hate** **them so much, and I was trying to club myself to death with my copy of **_**Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire **_**as I wrote it.**

**But I'm still alive. So read and review!**

**Eleanor xxx **


	21. Chapter 20: Love Screws Me Up

**Hey ho!**

**This chapter is a little shorter, only about 3,000 words, but it didn't require much addition and I think it works well the way I've left it. And I really wanted to get on with the Second Task; let me tell you, you won't suspect a thing, I hope…**

**And to my reviewer: Anno, thanks for taking the time to review, and I'm glad you like my story. I hate cliff-hangers too, but they are kind of useful.**

**Thank you to my new followers and/or favouriters! Enjoy, and review!**

* * *

"Everybody's gonna love today." - Love Today by Mika

* * *

Chapter 20: Love Screws Me Up

As if this day couldn't get any worse, now Fred had to contend with being in close proximity with the girl he was making plans to talk to without any warning.

"I'm so sorry!" Selene blushed crimson and pushed her hair out of her face, taking a few steps back from Fred. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Uh…" Fred gazed, transfixed with her eyes. "It's okay." He found himself saying, feeling a little bit detached with the real world. It was okay… it was completely okay. It was so adorable, the way she blushed…

Moving her gaze to her bag, Selene quickly picked it up from where it fallen, as the sunlight filtering through the window casually glanced off her hair, making it shine an almost dark blonde colour. Fred moved forwards unconsciously, standing so he was only a few inches away from her and closing the gap that Selene had produced when she moved backwards.

When she looked back at him again, she jumped backwards at their close proximity and knocked a suit of armour over in her shock. It landed on the floor with a resounding clang and very narrowly missed a very indignant Mrs Norris. "Argh!" Selene murmured, turning around to examine her handy work. "_Reparo_." She waved her wand and the armour fixed itself and attached itself to its pedestal again. "Sorry, I have a bit of a habit about breaking things."

"Never would have guessed." Fred joked, looking between the spot where the suit of armour was on the floor and Selene. "You okay though? It looked a little bit… destructive."

"I'll live." Selene shrugged and shifted her bag so it was higher up on her shoulder. "Sorry about that again, I never seem to be able to keep myself from breaking anything for any long period of time. I almost completely destroyed Professor Flitwick's office once." Her voice trailed off, like she was remembering something.

"I was on my way to the Great Hall, if you wanted to walk down with me?" Fred asked, crossing his fingers in his pocket as he did. In fact, he'd been about to annoy Madam Pince, but details didn't matter. "That is, if you're not busy or anything."

"Sure." Selene replied, sounding pleasantly surprised. Yet another piece of information to add to the long pile of propaganda against his theory that she hated him.

"So, I hardly know anything about you, apart from the fact that you have a younger brother and you play Chaser on the Quidditch team." Fred began, taking his hands out of his pockets and uncrossing his fingers. "What's your name? What's your favourite colour? What Quidditch team do you support?"

"Erm… Well, you know my name, I would hope. My favourite colour's blue and I support the Holyhead Harpies." Selene risked a sideways glance at Fred. "Don't look at me like that; I know your little sister supports them too."

"Chudley Cannons." Fred conferred proudly and Selene sniggered behind her hand. "Hey, they might not be the best but I believe that one day-"

"-Their Chaser will die from getting hit in the head with the Quaffle?" Selene guessed aloud. "They have no sense of direction, and their Seeker is pitiful."

"So, what else… favourite food? Favourite book? Favourite subject? By the way, I hate History of Magic so if you say History of Magic I will never talk to you again." Fred said seriously, looking at her gravely.

Selene ignored this comment. "I've read so many books I can't give you a favourite, sorry. And my favourite subject is Charms."

"Charms?" Fred scoffed. "Now I know, you're _that _girl."

"Excuse me? That girl? You can talk, I bet your favourite subject is Defence or something."

They continued in much the same way, laughing and joking about small, insignificant areas of their lives on their way to the Great Hall. Eventually, Selene's reservations and shyness faded away, and she forgot completely about the fact that she fancied the guy she was in deep conversation with, whilst Fred noted down everything she said, just in case. Eventually they dropped into a heated debate about Quidditch teams and whether The Chudley Cannons would ever improve before they went completely defunct. Selene was a strong supporter of the All-Witch Welsh Quidditch team the Holyhead Harpies and ignored Fred's attempts to recruit her to the Cannon fan club.

"I've supported them since I was two Fred, you can't deviate my opinion either way now." She insisted, giggling slightly at his annoyed expression. "Oh, calm down, I'm sure the Cannons improve _one day_."

"Shut up." Fred groaned, ignoring her laughter. Now he was really starting to understand her, she was definitely the complete opposite of everything he had originally thought about her. She seemed to truly support the Holyhead Harpies, which sucked for him and his long-term relationship with her. What's more, she didn't reference them as snarky gits, which he found hard to believe. "Okay, don't tell Ron I told you this, but you are probably right, they won't ever win the Cup again, but we can still dream, right?"

"You can dream." Selene said in faux sombre voice, nodding gravely. "You can dream, but it's never going to happen."

"Why you little-"Fred gasped, putting a hand to her forehead. "Are you feeling okay? I didn't think you had it in you to bring the reputation of one of the finest Quidditch teams of all time. It seems you'll be harder then I thought."

Too late, Fred realised what he had said. And there was nothing on hand to whack himself with too.

Selene looked at him a little funny, with her eyebrows raised and her eyes wide, her lips slightly parted. It was an expression full of humour, but it was a little hesitant. Reluctant, even. Her mouth might be amused, but her eyes were quiet. The eyes are a window to the soul, someone had once said. And this had never been truer.

There wasn't a mirror on hand, but their expressions mirrored one another. But Fred's eyes were alight with something, something that might, in a different situation, at a different time, might have looked a little bit like love.

"Freddie?" George poked his twin with the feathered end of his quill pen sharply. "Are you okay in there? Hello? Earth to Fred Weasley! Requesting immediate contact, pronto!"

"Huh?" Fred looked up from the piece of parchment he had been staring at. "What? Has anyone discovered teleportation? Because that is something I could do with. No more endless walking around the place, waiting for something to happen or for Dumbledore to finally lift the anti-apparition wards."

George shook his head sadly and gazed deeply into the fire that blazed in the Gryffindor common room fireplace. "You have it bad, don't you?"

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Turning to his twin in confusion, Fred regarded George like he was about to burst into song. "I'm just upset, that's all. If Ange wanted to dump me, she could choose to let me down gently, not just walk up to me after dinner in full view of all of Gryffindor and casually say 'I'm dumping you'."

"Everyone thinks I'm clueless when it comes to women and that isn't entirely untrue, but I can tell when my twin brother is obsessing over something, especially when it's a someone." George alluded, nodding like he knew all. "Ludo Bagman maybe? No that isn't it, you would have said all your inner monologue out loud. And it's not Angelina, so don't even mention it. But it might be someone else… someone I know quite well…"

"Oh. That." Fred said, without feeling, in a monotone. "Pull your mind out of the gutter George; I am not obsessing over a girl. No, I'm just trying to think of a way to get Bagman without getting caught out."

Shrugging, George turned back to the piece of parchment he was scribbling on. "Just admit it, you've fallen for her."

"Fallen for who?" Fred asked tartly, doing his best Professor McGonagall expression. "Pigwidgeon?"

"Oh, don't tell me you don't know her, you have a permanently glazed look in your eyes whenever she walks into the room. Not to mention you basically obsessively stalk her when you bribe one of the Prefects to show you the patrol list. No, you have no idea who she is…"

Fred was gripped with a sudden sort of panic. "I have a permanently glazed look in my eyes when I see her? You have got to be kidding me. No, I can't be that obvious."

Nodding knowingly, George smiled. "I think you like her. No, actually, I think I'm going to go one up on that and say that I think you fancy her."

It hit Fred like their father's car had once hit the Whomping Willow. In other words, very hard and very fast. Now he really was in the deep end. Never in all of his sixteen and a bit years of life had something hit him like this. If it was a physical object he'd have a very nasty bruise on the side of his head. This couldn't be happening. He'd flirt with her yes, like he did with every girl this side of Mexico (excluding those in Slytherin of course) but he couldn't actually, properly like her. It was only early December that those all-important words had been spoken, and it was only Christmas that he had apologised. He'd felt something for her then, but he had dismissed it as just a friendly feeling, nothing more. And now he wanted more than just friendship.

"Oh Godric." He swore, flopping backwards on his armchair and staring up at the ceiling. "I fancy Selene Malfoy."

Those words made it sound final, like he couldn't move on from her now, he couldn't pretend that they were, and would remain, friends. Because every time he even looked at her, he would feel a pang of longing. He'd have to watch as she dated, got married, have kids… And now he was worrying over something that probably wouldn't happen for years. And he wasn't the kind of person to let someone go after realising something as momentous as that.

"I told you!" George exclaimed triumphantly. "And I knew it! This means we don't have to just focus on Bagman and his cheating arse, we can concentrate on setting you up with a certain girl whose initials are SM."

Selene's P.O.V.

_It's going to be okay._

_ It has to be okay, it must be okay. I don't want to be here, I can't be here without me breaking down in helpless tears. The way the people look at me as I walk through the halls of the Ministry, clutching my mother's clammy hand, it makes me feel so helpless, so beyond help, it makes me want to curl up into a ball and wait for it to be over._

_ Because I cannot face this. I have never been courageous, even a little bit brave. I can't meet anyone's eyes. If I do, then it will feel like everything I know is lost. I will never see my father again._

_ Draco is too young to understand, and my parents too busy to care. So, in affect, I am alone. At least, I think, at least Draco does not have to witness this. He is far away, far away. He is free from this. Maybe if my parents were merciful, they would take this memory from me, delete it. _

_ "Mrs Malfoy." Someone says sternly, without pity and without anger. It's monotonous, final. Two ways. I pray for one, but my heart says I must resign myself to the other. "I understand you have brought the witness?"_

_ "That is correct." My mother nods to me, barely. "My eldest. I understand you need my wand?"_

_ "Twelve inches… oak… phoenix feather. I will be holding onto this. You will be returned it naturally, but it remains to be seen if your husband returns to wherever you disgusting Death Eaters live." The someone sneers, and I clutch Mother's hand ever more tightly, squeezing my eyes tight shut._

_ It is times like this when I have never loved my mother more. She holds her head up high, she refuses to back down. Her voice is cordial, not polite. "That will do, I think." And with a gentle tug on my hand, we walk again. _

_ This hall is black, reflective and it has the barest décor I have seen, possibly ever. It is simply a black marble hall, with un-effective lights dimly brightening it. Draco will not remember this walk, this trial, my father having to plead for a chance at watching us grow up. He is only twenty-seven, my mother twenty-six. This is no trial, this is a curse. There is no way I can have my father back after this._

_ I know more than they know. I know what my father stands accused of. I know who he has killed. And I know that, ultimately, he is wrong. I stood and watched while one of my father's greatest friends and he massacred people who were fighting for their life, the same as they were, so I cannot condone their actions. But Mother has taught me how to push past that, how to pretend that I am normal, that inside I am not screaming and crying, I am not wishing that I had a normal family. That my parents will always love me, even after what I know I must do._

_ "Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, you stand accused of murdering and torturing Muggles, Muggle-borns and those who attempted to prevent you from doing so. You are accused of fighting alongside He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to rid the world of Muggles. How do you plead?"_

_ "Not guilty." My father's voice is strong, and the rehearsed speech plays in my mind. He was Imperiused, as was my mother. He was forced into service. He was not thinking for himself. He was not acting consciously. My mother was not acting of her own accord. _

_ "Witness for the defence, Miss Selene Malfoy, daughter of the accused." The Minister reads out, and my mother places a gentle but firm hand in the small of my back. This must be new for them, I surely must be the youngest witness to ever grace these halls. _

_ I almost, stop, almost falter, but I keep my head down and I let my long hair hang in my face. I don't want to see them, the cold glares that will be staring down at me when I look up. Even young girls are possibly corruptible in this damaged world. And maybe three is not young for the Ministry. I don't feel young._

_ "Is it true that your father was in the service of You-Know-Who?" The Minister asks me. _

_ I nod. I can't trust myself to speak. If I do, then I will betray my family's trust, their façade will falter and the truth will be out. Maybe it's best and I can pretend that I did do the right thing. But outside, in my mind, I have been told what I must say. And so I open my mouth._

_ "He had no choice." I find myself saying. "He had no choice." Like I have no choice now. "He-"My voice falters and I risk a glance at my father. He doesn't smile, but then he never does. He knows, and he nods at me, knowing the words that will come out of my mouth next. "-he was under the Imperius Curse."_

_ My words are high, scared. I am forced to say them. I do not want to, but I must. I want to say how he murdered those brothers in front of me, but I can't. I cannot bring myself to say those words, to choke them out like I so badly want to. It is my fault, I am not brave. I can never be brave. _

_ I am helpless._

Selene's book dropped from her limp grasp and landed with a crash on the floor. Hastily flushing red, Selene murmured an apology and retrieved it, determinedly avoiding the curious gazes of her friends. She hadn't told anyone, not even Cho, about the worse memories. The ones where she felt detached, helpless. Aloof, cold. Too old to be a three year old. To young to be sixteen, almost seventeen.

That didn't matter now. Voldemort was dead and gone. For a long time. There was no way that mattered now. Father was free and out of Azkaban.

And now she had a book to read and someone to think about. Opening the book to the slightly crumpled page she had been skim-reading, Selene traced one of the faded words, wondering how her life had changed on such a very short space of time. If you had told her this time last year that she would have a friend who completely understood her, had created a strange kind of allegiance with Harry Potter of all people and was freaking out over Fred Weasley, then she would have raised an eyebrow and directed them to the Medical Wing. But, all in all, life wasn't that different.

After all, she had bigger things to think about. The Second Triwizard task, for one. Fleur, although she seemed aloof and above everyone at the best of times, was not confident with her magical ability and often needed support as well as physical help. And tonight, the night before the task, would be the hardest for her.

"Excuse me?" Professor Flitwick spoke and Selene looked up from her book, sharing a curious glance with Cho. This was unexpected; normally by this time Flitwick was marking essays or whatever he chose to do in the evenings. "Can I please speak to Miss Chang?"

Cho shrugged at Selene, but obediently walked over to where the tiny Professor Flitwick stood in the corner of the common room. No one thought very much of this, and went back to their homework and other activities.

Sending an encouraging glance back at her friend, Cho left the room with the Head of Ravenclaw and disappeared from sight. Selene stared after where she had vanished for some time, pondering a question in her mind. Why Cho? Cho had never had a detention, and had actually been the favourite for Ravenclaw prefect before Flitwick chose Selene. And even now, no one was completely sure why he chose Selene over Cho. But why now, of all times if he needed to talk to her? Of all times…

Something clicked in the back of her mind and she sprang up, leaving the book on the chair. She had to warn Fleur.

**Ha ha ha ha! As much as I hate cliff-hangers, they are fun to write.**

**And let me tell you, what will appear next chapter is unexpected. I'm sorry I made things move so fast, but I needed to for the plot. **

**I will see you soon!**

**Eleanor xxx**

**P.S. My friend Vivian has recently joined Fanfiction, she's called The soulless ones. Check her out, but don't be perturbed by her freaky bio!**


	22. Chapter 21: Red and Blue

**Thank you to my lovely reviews:**

**Kacey; my jam-packed life knows no boundaries itself, don't beat yourself up. I should be doing homework right now but oh well. Enjoy this chapter!**

**And… , here is the update! Enjoy :D**

**Lastly bellatrixD, don't know if the ending of this counts as a cliffhanger or not but if it does then I promise there won't be another for a while. PROMISE! Go Quidditch!**

**READ AND REVIEW!**

**Edited: as of 20/11/14**

* * *

"She's a rainbow and she loves the peaceful life, knows I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight." - I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight by U2

* * *

Chapter 21: Red and Blue

"So, the thing I will most miss, that's what I must retrieve?" Fleur's eyes widened and she began to pace, backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, so repeatedly that she must have started to wear a hole in the floor. Her long, silvery-blonde hair whipped around each time she turned, and her blue eyes burned with realisation. "Who would I most miss?"

Selene's eyes drooped slightly, but she managed to keep herself awake. She had been with Fleur for the last four hours, holed up in an empty classroom, trying to figure out who Fleur would miss the most. "You've asked that question about four million times already, repeating it won't make it any easier to decipher."

It was already almost time for the Second Task, about six o'clock in the morning. Selene hadn't been able to catch Fleur the evening before, and had promptly been hauled out of bed at two in the morning. There were some downsides to French girls, and their irregular sleeping pattern was one of them. Infamously, Fleur and Leanne had once dragged Selene to an all-night party held by Leanne's eldest brother, for no reason other than simply because Fleur wanted to. Looking back on it all, Fleur had the student population of Beauxbatons under her little finger.

Suddenly, Fleur slumped down in the chair opposite Selene, massaging her temple with two delicate fingers. "You English are so annoying." She complained, looking out of the window to the dark sky. "England is cold, wet, boring, how could you choose this place over France Selene?"

Selene giggled at Fleur's inability to like England. "It's Scotland, technically Fleur. And I like it here, it's got amazing scenery, the food is amazing and I've got most of my friends here too." She explained, but then her voice faltered. "It's…"

"Invigorating?" Fleur guessed, and Selene nodded. She forgot how to say that in French. She forgot. She should really have expected it, after four years in England, but it still came as a shock. She had forgotten how to say something.

"Are you sure it's not that George Weezly?" Fleur asked slyly, smiling empathetically.

This came as quite a surprise to Selene, who had momentarily forgotten that both Fleur and Cho were obsessed over her apparent attraction to George. "Fleur," Selene bit her lip, trying to think of a way to say this that wouldn't immediately hype her French friend up. "it's not George."

"Ah, you are joking, _non_?" Fleur asked, speaking in English. "You are veery see-through."

"Transparent." Selene corrected, cracking a smile at her friend's weird English. "You are very transparent."

Fleur's smile disappeared, and she turned to Selene with fear evident in her expression. "You do not think…" She exclaimed in a French accent. "You do not think you will not be chosen?"

"I'm still here; Flitwick didn't call me with Cho." Selene flushed red and hid her head in her hands. "Um… but thanks I guess."

"Phew, I do not know what I would do weethout you _ma cherie_." Fleur's expression relaxed. "You are _ma meilleure ami, non?_"

"But if it's not me, then who is it? Who would you most miss Fleur?"

Neither of them spoke for minutes, Fleur resuming her pacing and Selene wordlessly gazing out of the window and watching the disappearing moonlight bounce off the Black Lake. That lake held a lot of good and bad memories, from that disastrous time Cho decided to teach Selene how to swim to the enjoyable Saturday morning that had first alerted Cho to Cedric's existence.

Smiling slightly at the memory, Selene moved her attention to the Forbidden Forest, just visible in front of the sunrise. From what Draco had told her about that detention her shared with Harry, Ron and Hermione back in his first year, it was downright terrifying in there, all dark and dangerous creatures… Selene shuddered and bit her lip thoughtfully. Why was there even a forest if no one was supposed to go in it?

Fleur finally broke the silence with a little exclamation of realisation. "You don't think Selene… no, they couldn't… they…"

Her face paled and her hands began to shake as she looked out over the lake. Clenching her hands into fists to stop them shaking, Fleur clutched the side of the window for support. "Is there any chance the hostages may… die?" She choked out to her friend, not looking at Selene. "Any chance at all?"

"I…I…" Selene looked around wildly for inspiration. "I don't know Fleur." She decided on, truthfully. But as soon as she said the words, her eyes widened. Cho… and Krum's hostage - that would have to be Hermione. She was facing losing two of her best friends today.

"Is there any chance?" Fleur turned around and faced Selene, tears sparkling in her eyes. "Please tell me, you must, you have to."

Not trusting herself to speak, Selene nodded, feeling the first few tears leak out. She brushed them away furiously; if she couldn't be brave then she was not going to break down like she felt she was about to. She was going to be strong like her mother, her role model.

Then Fleur began to sob, stepping forward to wrap her arms around Selene. The last scrap of confidence, resolution and control left her, and the tears began to fall freely as she clung to the only real friend that was here.

Selene stood for a second limply, her mind set on cheering her friend up and persuading her that the hostages would be okay, that Professor Dumbledore wouldn't let them be hurt, that the Tournament was completely safe. But then the desperate sobbing of Fleur and her own fractured belief got the better of her and her self-control shattered, leaving a terrified, destroyed girl that was underneath her diligent exterior. The tears that she had been told must never fall, Malfoy rule number three, fell and there was nothing to hold them back.

The complete and utter hopelessness that Selene had felt only a few times in her sixteen years of life overwhelmed her as Fleur relentlessly clung to her best friend, her sorrow influencing both of them. Glimmers of memory flashed in Selene's mind, memories she'd rather forget. Memories of feeling detached, a feeling she had never quite understood.

"Thank you." Fleur said gratefully, moving away from her friend. "You have always made me feel better Selene. That is why you are my best friend."

She was luckier then she knew, surrounded by friends, one old, one current and one new. And now she was facing possibly losing two of them, something she had somehow overlooked for hours, and her walls began to crumble and her broken persona of old began to leak through the cracks.

Life had never been more bittersweet as the pair of quietly breaking girls walked down towards the lake, comforting each other by being there, but frozen inside knowing that there was too much to lose.

The morning air was bitterly cold and a howling wind whistled through the crowds of people; chilling Selene to the core. She shared an empathetic nod with Fleur, each reminding each other of their presence.

"Bubble Head Charm." Selene reminded in an undertone, keeping her voice down. She had a sneaking suspicion that both Hermione and Cho had figured out that she was helping Fleur, and she knew that Harry knew, but it wasn't strictly legal so the less people that knew the better.

Fleur nodded, and glanced towards the stands explicitly, saying what she needed to without saying it verbatim. Selene gave her friend a parting hug, echoing the terror in Fleur's eyes in her own. "I'll be there." She whispered, walking off towards the stands.

There didn't seem like any real point in sitting with the Gryffindors, seeing that her only definite friend there was in the Black Lake, but nevertheless she made her way towards the sea of red, hoping that someone would recognise and spot her.

"OI!" Someone answered her prayers and yelled. "SELENE! COME ON, WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"

Despite her inner worries, a smile spread over Selene's face as she walked over to where George was madly wind-milling his arms around to get his attention. With a little jolt, she noticed Fred sitting next to his twin, along with a couple of girls from the Gryffindor Quidditch team, excluding Angelina she noted. They all looked presently surprised at Selene's appearance, but the lack of glares more than made up for it.

"You don't have to yell George – it isn't _that _loud." She said as she walked towards the group. Then she flushed, and resisted the need to hide her head in her hands. "Hi Fred."

Mentally congratulating herself for not becoming a hopeless wreck at saying his name, Selene managed a careful little smile in his direction which was quickly returned. One of the girls stifled a laugh behind her hand, turning it into a cough.

"Sorry about my friend here." The other girl glared at the quietly giggling person beside her. "She's hopeless. I'm Alicia by the way, Alicia Spinnet."

The giggly girl swallowed her laughter and gave a mad little wave. "And I'm Katie Bell. Aren't you the Chaser on the Ravenclaw team? The one that got knocked out by your own Beater?"

"Yeah." Selene winced slightly at the painful memory. "I'm Selene Malfoy."

Alicia did a little double-take at this and looked around. "No way are you Malfoy's sister!" She gasped, prodding George hard.

"Ow…" George rubbed his arm gingerly. "Watch where you're putting your fingers woman! You could put someone's eye out!"

Katie sprang up and pulled Selene down in the space between her and Fred, moving up a couple of third years to accommodate the new arrival. Selene could feel the heat rising in her cheeks in being so close to Fred, but luckily neither Fred or Katie noticed this and Alicia began to excitedly rattle on about Quidditch.

"-the Kenmare Kestrels are doing well this season, of course!" Alicia noted, leaning over Fred so she could speak directly to Selene. "What team do you support?"

"The Holyhead Harpies." Selene said, while Fred mouthed the answer along with her. "Their Chasers are amazing!"

"I know!" Katie gushed, grabbing Selene's attention. "But I think Gwenog Jones could definitely choose their Seeker better, then they might not keep losing to the Kestrels!"

"Excuse me? The Kestrels have got six decent players, except for their Beater, he's a troll, and they could take the Harpies anytime!" Alicia interjected. "You two are going down the drain."

"We can't really contribute to this conversation." George spoke sadly.

Fred nodded his agreement. "As Selene delights in reminding me, if the Cannons win this season then I'll kiss a Flobberworm."

"Hey, where's Harry?" George asked, peering over the edge of the stands. "I can see Fleur, and Krum and Cedric, but where's Harry?"

"Relax George, he's there. You might need to get your eyes tested." Fred pointed to the spot next to Cedric, which was occupied by a small boy with messy black hair.

It wasn't really funny, but Selene giggled nervously anyway, earning a little smirk from George and a pleased smile from Fred. Katie and Alicia knowingly elbowed each other; both knowing that Fred was more-than-a-little obsessed with the Ravenclaw.

"3…2…1…GO!" Ludo Bagman yelled; and the four champions began the task. To Selene's relief, Fleur correctly managed to use the Bubble Head Charm that Selene had been coaching her in, and Cedric used the same tactic, to much delighted yelling from the Hufflepuffs. Krum used some type of Transfiguration that was incomplete, but still advanced and Harry just stood in the water, chewing something as the others dived in.

"You don't think…" Katie exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, but Selene put two and two together and came up with five.

"Gillyweed." She correctly ascertained as Harry clamped his hands over his neck and dove into the water. "I might not be very good at Herbology but I do read books."

With all the champions gone, the cheers lulled a bit but didn't stop. George turned to the three girls with mischief in his eyes. "Anyone fancy a bet?" He asked, as Katie and Alicia grimaced and groaned, obviously used to the twin's bets. "Come on, anyone?"

Selene shook her head hastily. "I've already got a bet with Draco that Harry will actually survive, and that's for twenty galleons."

The look George gave her could have sunk a million ships. "Twenty?" His jaw dropped open and Selene felt slightly uncomfortable.

"Um…" Selene didn't really know what to say. She had majorly slipped up in saying that, she knew the Weasley's were poor, in fact her father delighted in noting that fact at every dinnertime. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay." George really didn't sound bothered. "I know you didn't mean it. Tell me then, how many did you two bet on the Quidditch World Cup?"

"Don't tell me, thirty?" Alicia slipped in.

"Fourty?" Katie added evilly. "Can't be more than fourty."

"Fifty-five." Selene winced at the incredulous looks they gave her, cringing under their gaze. "I won it. Because Ireland won."

"Well then, I will expect an awesome birthday present." George jumped in, diffusing the tension. "We all will."

The group murmured their assent, Fred giving Selene a curious look, like he was trying to read something he didn't understand. Selene blushed at his non-wavering gaze and took the opportunity to check the huge clock that had been fixed above the lake. "Sure." She agreed, not really paying attention.

Fifteen minutes had passed. No one seemed concerned but a niggling feeling began to emerge in Selene's stomach. Something was wrong, surely Bagman would have regular updates on how the champions were doing, not just silence. One hour was actually a decent amount of time to work with, if you didn't get distracted.

George suddenly yawned and stood up from his seat, "accidently" pushing Fred into Selene as he stretched out his arms. "I don't know about you but I'm bored." He explained as they quickly moved away from each other. "What about you my dear brother?"

"Fine…" Fred said, gritting his teeth and glaring at his twin. "Completely fine."

"Lovely day…" George added absent-mindedly, winking at Katie and Alicia as they giggled at Fred's discomfort and annoyance. "What do you think Selene?"

Jumping slightly at being addressed directly, Selene nodded, albeit slowly. "I guess, but it's a bit cold, isn't it?"

"You can have my scarf!" Fred blurted, and Katie succumbed into laughter. George smiled knowingly and Alicia rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to forcefully push Fred onto Selene. "Uh, here you, um… go."

"Thanks." Selene smiled at Fred, her mind a mess of white marshmallows (blame her brother for that) and Chocolate Frogs.

Alicia face-palmed and shared a knowing look with George. Katie had stopped laughing, and was now about to explode with the fact that they liked each other. To stop herself from yelling this out, she instead bit her tongue sharply and started a conversation about sweets with Alicia.

As the other three were avidly discussing about whether Chocolate Frogs held out over Every Flavour Beans, Fred and Selene sat there in a very awkward silence. Every time Fred would go to say something, he'd think better of it and go back to staring at the Gryffindor scarf that was now around Selene's neck, and whenever Selene was about to admit that she was puzzled and nervous, she would become very interested with her shoes. It was a no-win situation, as neither of them were willing to start up a conversation again.

Finally, Alicia became bored with the current state of affairs and leapt up again, missing Fred and Selene but immediately turning to face them. Bluntness mode activated.

"Oh, come on! Say something!" She pressed Fred, waving her fingers in front of his nose. "Anything? Oh, come one, you haven't gone mute on us have you?"

"Piss off." Fred muttered, again becoming obsessed with the Gryffindor scarf.

"IT TALKS!" She yelled, attracting the attention of everyone around them. "Oh, sorry guys, it's a bit awkward and stuff over here, best go back to being bored."

Shrugging and turning away, the attentions of the fellow supporters waned and soon enough Alicia was left with two awkward people and two silently laughing individuals. "Fred are you a vampire? Because you keep staring at Selene's neck. Should I tell Lily? Then you can bite her and all of her wishes will be fulfilled."

"NO!" Fred and Selene exclaimed at the same time, before blushing and turning away, this time Fred distinctly looking anywhere but at the scarf. He could feel his ears turning red like whenever he was under pressure, damn family trait.

Alicia stood there, looking between Fred and Selene for quite some time, before giving up and sitting back down beside George again. "Do they realise?" She said in a stage-whisper to Katie.

"I don't think so." Katie replied, a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. "George, has Fred admitted it yet?"

"Not to Selene." George completed in a loud whisper, grinning at Fred and Selene quickly. "Hello! Are you two talking to each other yet?"

Both shook their heads, trying to work out what the three people beside them were talking about. They seemed to have gone back to square one again, back to the Yule Ball.

Remembering how he got her to talk before, Fred looked around for inspiration and quickly found a viable idea. "What do you think of Bagman?" He asked unexpectedly.

"He's, urm, okay I guess. I don't really know him. From what Fleur says he's a bit of a maniac and not very tactful." Selene answered, grateful for the distraction.

Fred laughed at Fleur's rather accurate description. "He is. Dad really likes him though, Bagman's the one who got us the tickets for the Quidditch World Cup. My brother Percy, you know the one who's filling in for Crouch? He absolutely hates him, probably because he was striding around in his Wimbourne Wasps robes all the time." He added darkly, glaring in the general direction of the Triwizard judge. "Idiot."

Taken aback by the last comment, Selene didn't further the topic, instead focusing on Madame Maxime. "Is it true that Madame Maxime's horses almost killed a Slytherin first year?" She asked curiously.

"Load of dung, I know for a fact that Malfoy spread that rumour to make himself look good." Fred locked his jaw before remembering who he was talking too. "Oh, sorry. I forgot you were his sister."

"It's okay." Selene dismissed. "Lots of people do. Quite flattering actually, as much as I love my little brother he is kind of a git to people he doesn't like."

"Kind of?" Fred queried, turning to look at the girl. "Understatement of the century."

To is surprise, Selene giggled at this. "I know what you mean. He isn't normally that bad, it's just lately…" She shrugged. "He gets a bit lonely."

Before Fred could ask exactly why Draco Malfoy gets lonely, a kerfuffle broke out from the edge of the lake and he, Selene, Alicia, George and Katie strained their eyes to see who it was.

"And Miss Delacour has returned, without her hostage!" Ludo Bagman yelled over the uproar of the crowd and Selene tensed, her earlier terror breaking through the barrier she had made. "Goodness gracious, will she be alright?"

"I need to go down there." Selene stood up and began to push her way through the crowds.

Fred and George had a mental conversation, which ended in Fred hastily making to follow the Ravenclaw and George trying to explain to Alicia and Katie what was happening.

When she reached the foot of the stairs that led up to the stands, Selene broke out into a panicked run towards Fleur, who was being comforted by Madame Maxime. "Fleur! _Quel est le problem?"_

Madame Maxime looked up from the teary girl in her arms and looked pleadingly at Selene. "Selene, she was attacked by ze Grindeelows! Zose veecious creetures!"

"If I may, Madame Maxime." Professor Dumbledore had appeared in the minutes that Selene had been standing there. "As you may well know Miss Malfoy, once a champion has returned from the lake there is not going back. However-"He looked Selene dead in the eyes. "-As part of the safety regulations that have been instated, if a champion can find someone willing to complete the task for them if another life is in danger, then that someone would be allowed to continue on in the place of the champion. Miss Delacour's sister-" Fleur sobbed ever more loudly at this. "-Is her hostage, and I understand-"

Selene didn't hear the rest of his sentence and nodded robotically, remembering the beautiful smile and silvery-blonde hair of Fleur's younger sister, her sweet laugh and the adoring way she would follow both Fleur and Selene around whenever Selene was over at the Delacour's during the holidays. It was obvious why Gabrielle was Fleur's hostage: Fleur adored her younger sister and spoilt her rotten. If Fleur couldn't save her, then someone had to. No one else would, no one else cared enough about the sobbing girl to even think about it. It was her, or no one.

"I'll go." She heard herself saying. "I might not be brave, but Gabrielle can't be left down there."

"Zank you…" Fleur sobbed, throwing her arms around Selene. "You are my best friend, and I owe you so much. Zank you!"

"Miss Malfoy, the clock is ticking." Professor Dumbledore reminded. "You have thirty minutes."

Taking deep breaths, Selene was led behind the medical tent by Fleur, who was quite adept at clothes transfiguration. Fleur quickly transfigured her clothes into a purple one-piece swimsuit, hugging her friend again. Selene unwound the scarf from around her neck, handing it to her friend with shaky hands.

As she walked out again, Selene's heart began to pound so loudly she could swear everyone could hear it. She couldn't think properly, the screaming crowd took over everything she could focus one. Why was she doing this? This was the kind of thing Gryffindors did, not quiet studious Ravenclaws. But then the thought of Gabrielle, right at the bottom of the lake, her hair swimming in the water overtook her and she looked back once at Fleur.

Fleur wasn't the person her eyes landed on however. Fred Weasley was shocked, if such an expression could ever be labelled as such. For a split second Selene wanted to take the time to explain to him – if anyone was important enough it was him – but there wasn't time. One glance at the clock said that. Love knows no boundaries, except when another's life is on the brink.

"AND AS THE NEW RULES DICTATE, IF ANOTHER'S LIFE IS IN DANGER AND THE CHAMPION IS UNABLE TO COMPLETE THE TASK, THEN ANOTHER MAY STEP IN TO SAVE THE HOSTAGE! MISS MALFOY HAS TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES TO RETURN WITH MISSDELACOUR'S HOSTAGE!"

Casting the Bubble Head Charm over her, Selene turned back to face the lake, repeating the task over and over in her mind. Find Gabrielle, save her. Find Gabrielle, save her.

And before you could say "What the hell are you doing?" Selene was swimming into the lake, pushed her way through seaweed and wondering why she wasn't a Hufflepuff. Why was she even a Ravenclaw if she couldn't stay away from helping her friends in any way she could?

And then she realised that is your friends were in danger or in trouble, then she would do anything.

There were no Grindylows so far, for which Selene was devoutly grateful. It was all she could do to whisper "_Lumos_." And even the slight light that could be seen from the tip of her wand was no use against the overwhelming blackness.

Supposing that Harry, Krum and Cedric must be further on, Selene continued to battle her way through the pond life, using spells where the knots were especially thick. Eventually the weed dispersed, leaving the way clear forward and she began to swim into the blackness, vaguely aware of the strange sensation that came with using a Bubble Head Charm on yourself.

After what seemed like years, but what must have only been about twenty minutes, she spotted a dark green glowing light from the bottom of the lake. Mermaids.

"_Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground._" They sang, eerily surrounding Selene as she tried to spot something other than the merfolk from the light emitting from her wand.

"Oh, shut up." She muttered, spotting a couple of humanoid figures and swimming towards them.

Harry Potter looked up as she approached; shock evident on his face, tinged green by the ghostly light of the merpeople. Viktor Krum, still half shark was attempting to cut Hermione free from ropes that bound her to a metal fence. Harry was holding on to a comatose Ron, and there was a gap between Hermione and Gabrielle that must have been Cho. At least she was safe, Cedric would never let anything happen to her anyway.

Gabrielle was comatose too, and her blonde hair was swaying slightly in the water like she had imagined. Gesturing to Gabrielle, Harry made a "You?" face at Selene, nodding at Krum as he swam by with Hermione.

Selene confirmed this, mouthing "I'll tell you when we get out of here." At the fourth year, who threw the piece of flint to her as a reply and watched as Selene sawed at the ropes for a bit, not really getting anywhere. Giving up, Selene pointed her wand at the ropes and thought "_Diffindo!_"

The ropes fell away, leaving Gabrielle to float free and Selene grabbed her protectively, nodding to Harry. They began to swim up towards the distant twinkling surface, Selene again destroying rocks and weeds that appeared in their path. Her legs began to ache but Selene hardly noticed; her full attention on Gabrielle and Harry. About six metres from the surface, Harry began to cough and splutter.

Noticing that the Gillyweed was wearing off, Selene grabbed Harry's hand and towed him above the water, hearing a muffled splashing sound that confirmed his reappearance. Ron had woken up too it seemed, and when Selene had managed to haul herself above the water along with Gabrielle, the last part of her energy left her.

"SELENE!" She could faintly hear Fleur yelling. "OH YOU SAVED HER, YOU SAVED MY LEETLE SEESTER! 'OW CAN I EVER REPAY YOU?"

"Why's she here?" A very disgruntled Ron asked, and a flash of red hair appeared on her Fleur dominated vision.

"Let her breath, let her breath." Madam Pomfrey bustled into view. "She's exhausted, pulling you three up like that. A miracle she made it, really."

Someone helped her up, and Selene brushed a soaking-wet tendril of hair out of her face to see the panic-stricken faces of Hermione and Cho running towards her.

"Selene!" Hermione reached her first and threw her arms around the older girl, ignoring her drenched state. "Oh my gosh, are you aright? Professor Dumbledore said you'd gone to get Fleur's hostage and-"

Hermione was forced to leave off here as Cho launched herself at Selene, crying helplessly. "I… thought… you… were… dead…" She choked, squeezing her ever-more tightly. "DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

Eventually Madam Pomfrey managed to chivvy on the crowd, hustling Selene, Gabrielle, Cho, Hermione, Harry and Ron back into the medical tent where Krum and Cedric already were.

"Drink this dear." Madam Pomfrey passed a glass of what looked like Ribena to Selene, and as she drank she could tell steam had come out of her ears, even if the same affect hadn't expanded to the rest of them too after they'd drank the Pepper-Up Potion.

Once Gabrielle had been given a once-over and pronounced fit, she bounded up and ran into Selene's arms, jabbering in excited French about how pleased she was to see her again and how grown-up she was and how there was a guy with red-hair waiting for her outside the tent.

"Wait, you said red-hair?" Selene looked down at the eight-year-old quizzically. Gabrielle just nodded and buried her head in Selene's shoulder, leaving her to wonder why Fred would want to talk to her, asides from the whole "jumping in the lake" idea.

Gabrielle disappeared a bit later, skipping off to find Madame Maxime, and Selene wrapped the cloak Madame Pomfrey had given her around her shoulders and stepped out into the glaring winter sunlight, shielding her eyes from the sun. It was quieter, and most of the students were back up in the school.

"Hi." Fred was just outside the tent-flap, with George, Alicia and Katie not too far off in the distance. "That was amazing, by the way."

"Thanks." Selene flushed the colour of her swimsuit, managing a smile. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Fred didn't say anything at first, but then he passed Selene his scarf, wrapping it around her neck and leaving his fingers to linger a little longer on her bare skin. "Keep it." He managed to say, after his heart assumed a more regular pattern. "And I didn't want to talk to you. I was trying to do this, all the goddamn time you were sitting next to me in the stands. Then you just went and dived into the bloody lake, and I thought you were a goner. And now you're alive and I just wanted to-"

He didn't finish his sentence, but he didn't need to. Because as he leaned forward and lightly brushed his lips with hers, that was all that didn't need to be verbalised. It was short and soft, but to Selene it lasted for years. He tasted faintly of vanilla, and the gentle way he touched her shoulder to steady her made her logically thinking mind melt like ice cream.

She was as red as a strawberry when he stopped, just standing there trying to work out her feelings. Selene was faintly aware of George whooping and wolf-whistling a few metres away, but she didn't turn to face him. Instead she found herself unable to move from her position.

And for the first time, when she looked into his eyes, she didn't see that man who died in front of her, she saw Fred Weasley, properly. She could count every freckle on his face, could see every single eyelash as they stood there, saying nothing.

That was the day that Fred Weasley unconditionally fell in love with Selene Malfoy.

**Don't kill me! Don't kill me!**

**I had to do that. It doesn't make sense that they wouldn't have a back-up plan if someone else's life was in danger, and then the idea sprang into my head along with all that adorableness at the end. I needed to ship Frelene as soon as possible, so the plot would work.**

**So, review and let me know what you thought! This chapter is 5,114 words long, if you can believe it! I hope you didn't think I rushed the task, but the main plot point is the kiss and all the awkward stuff before.**

**Tell me when you want them to start dating, it can be whenever from here really!**

**Gosh, I feel a bit like a big white fluffy marshmallow now! (THAT will come back up later…)**

**See ya – READ AND REVIEW!**

**Eleanor xxx**

**P.S. Do I suck at this romantic stuff? Let me know, I need some help for that.**


	23. Chapter 22: Of Kissing And Scarves

**I'm just going to say thank you to all my reviewers, named or not named. Kacey, TheJesusFreak111, BellatrixD… I love you guys. Your reviews are amazing.**

**I need to get this up before I spontaneously combust.**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"A kiss and I will surrender." - The Sharpest Lives by My Chemical Romance

* * *

Chapter 22: Of Kissing and Scarves

His every waking moment was basically filled with the memory of that kiss.

For once, he'd let himself go and now Fred wasn't sure whether he did the right thing. But she'd looked so pretty, with that overlarge cloak wrapped around her shoulders and the damp tendrils of hair gracefully pushed back off her face. And her face when he wrapped that scarf around her neck, the way her bare skin had felt beneath his fingers…

And now she wouldn't even look at him. That could be interpreted as either annoyance or shyness, and judging by the goddamn awful way he'd treated her before he could bet his bloody broomstick that she hated him.

Why, why, why did he have to be so bloody idiotic? Kissing her like that, so unawares. He at least owed her an apology, even if she hated him now.

Godric, he hoped she didn't hate him. He could have dealt with it if it was purely physical attraction, he'd had lots of experience with that anyway, but now he actually was _in _love with her, it was doubly difficult. Every time he saw her, even if it was just a fleeting glimpse, he wanted to kiss her again. Or at least touch her, just a little brush. Talk to her, hopefully without them having another crazily awkward silence.

Had they even talked properly? Yes, they had, but that was before he realised that he fancied her. George's theory that she liked him too was probably defunct, if her shock and quick escape after he kissed her was any indication.

Quidditch. The Holyhead Harpies vs The Chudley Cannons; that was all he remembered of that conversation. Oh, and her refusal to admit that the Cannons kicked arse.

A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth as he bit into a piece of toast thoughtfully. Normally if he even caught himself thinking about anything resembling romantic feelings he would grab George and his broom and challenge his twin to see who could stay on their broom the longest while they tried to knock each other off. But now, without that to take his mind off it, he was spending all of his free time thinking about Selene Malfoy.

When he looked up from the Gryffindor table and the spiel Hermione was giving that he was only half-listening to, Fred purposefully glanced at the Ravenclaws, who all seemed to be gathered around Selene since her recent excursion into the lake. In fact, it wasn't just the Ravenclaws. Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors all seemed to extend to her new fan club, but Slytherins just seemed to act the same around her; quietly wondering who the heck she was.

Grinning at the thought, Fred turned back to his fellow Gryffindors and the faces of a very bored Harry and Ron. In fact, Ron had fallen asleep in his bacon. Lily, who was stationed beside Hermione, kept reaching across to steal George's sausages, who was electing to ignore her for fear of being killed by flying fork.

"Are any of you even listening?" Hermione finally asked, exasperated. "Any of you?"

Everyone shook their heads, too bored and preoccupied to speak. Hermione rolled her eyes, before turning to Fred. "Have you spoken to Selene yet?" She asked suddenly, and miraculously everyone woke up, even Ron.

"No…" In fact Fred's thoughts had been eerily similar to this statement. "Why…?"

"Well, you kissed her, didn't you?" Hermione pointed out casually.

Ron sat up straight, an expression of complete and utter confusion on his face. "What, you kissed Selene? I thought you hated her, didn't he Harry? I distinctly remember you hated her."

Looking around as if an answer might present itself somehow, Fred risked a glance towards the Ravenclaw table. "Um, no I don't hate her. At all." He reiterated. "Ever. She's, um, nice?"

George snorted. "Nice? You wouldn't have said that when you were busy snogging her."

"But have you talked to her yet?" Hermione raised her voice so she could be heard over the arguing. "Hmmm?"

"No, I haven't okay?" Fred snapped, tearing his mind to the issue at hand. "She obviously hates me, or she wouldn't have scarpered like that."

If it was possible, Hermione became even more pushy and annoying. Ron really could pick 'em. "Oh, that's a shame." She began. "Because she really likes you, you know. She told me. Selene's a little shy, that's why she ran away. But she likes you; you'd better go and talk to her."

A little bit of something lit up in Fred, but he kept it to himself. "Not right now." He insisted. "Anyway, she's busy with all of her friends and stuff. I'll talk to her later."

"Is little Freddie too scared to talk to a girl?" George teased, poking Fred with his fork. "Is he too scared to talk to a girl he likes? Oooh, beware the great Frederick Weasley, master prankster but too scared to talk to a girl! I'm so scared!"

"You're not going to let this go are you?" Fred shook his head and tried to ignore his twin's teasing, but lifted his gaze again to the Ravenclaw table, pondering whether Selene actually liked him.

"Should I broadcast this fact?" Lily grinned evilly, putting down her cutlery and standing up. "Standing on the table?"

His face falling, Fred shot her his "evil death glare". "You bloody well wouldn't." He glared, feeling heat rise in his face. "You wouldn't bloody dare."

"Yes I would, unless you go over there right now and talk to my cousin." She threatened.

"That's not bloody fair!" Fred tried to stare Lily down, but she was having none of it. "No bloody way."

"That's blackmail." She answered in a sing-song voice, sitting back down again. "Go on then Freddie-boy, go and talk to my favourite cousin. She will really appreciate it, won't she Hermione?"

"Not that I condone blackmail." Hermione muttered, but she nodded begrudgingly. "If he doesn't go, I'd stand on the table Lily. George, what do you think?"

Before George could voice his opinion, Fred stood up, casting another less-then-polite glance at Liliana Tonks and another one at Hermione, gave George the finger and walked over to the Ravenclaw table, wondering what in the name of Godric Gryffindor he was doing.

Selene's P.O.V.

She loved him. She knew that as soon as their lips touched, but she had been stupid and ran off before she could react in a way that Rowena Ravenclaw would have been proud of. Not just ran.

The new, red scarf that inexplicably she folded up neatly and placed in one of her bigger books, that was just something she didn't want to think about. She didn't want to think about the way his gentle touch had left fire on her skin and she didn't want to think about how the barest rush that their lips had made forced some kind of twisted desire into her mind. And now Selene couldn't look at him and it was all so stupid.

Why couldn't love just be simple? Be as simple as flying a broomstick, as choosing between two books at five in the morning. Not this complicated, full with people obsessed that she liked George, not pausing to believe that she might love his twin brother.

Selene was in at the deep end, she knew that. She had jumped in head first when Fred kissed her, and now she couldn't look at him. And she was forced to confront the fact that she unconditionally loved the son of two people her parents hated. What would Draco say? His sister was in love with a Blood Traitor, a Weasley no less. Just another reason why she couldn't feel this way.

And now everyone was flocking around her like bees to honey, all because she'd helped out a friend when no one else would. She wasn't brave; she decided a goal and stuck at it until she struck gold. That counted for swimming to get eight year-olds too.

There was a reason she was in Ravenclaw, after all. Too cowardly to be in Gryffindor, too accepting to be in Slytherin, too headstrong to be in Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw's traits included acceptance, and it seemed it was also the only house that would have her.

She wasn't deserving of all this attention, it was simply something hard to complete that she'd broken down into bite-sized pieces so she wouldn't get freaked out. Also, the way the Gryffindors now clapped at her whenever she passed them in the hall and the warm smiles of the Hufflepuffs were alien. Before this year, she was the quiet, studious Ravenclaw prefect that somehow was on the Quidditch team. Somehow. Selene was the girl you'd find reading a book over lunch, whether it be Muggle or magical.

Now… now she was stared at wherever she went, had two completely new friends that she hardly knew existed until the Second Task, had hoards of unwanted attention from boys as well as admiring girls – in fact there was one Gryffindor fifth year that seemed to follow her constantly – and was no longer a chameleon.

"So, how did you do it?" Marietta gasped, leaning forward on her elbows. "How did you save this Gabriella girl?"

"Her name is Gabrielle." Selene corrected, rubbing her forehead wearily. "And I told you, I just did what the others did, swam down to the bottom of the bloody lake and freed her. Nothing to it."

No one took the hint and backed off however, and everyone was suddenly excitedly asking Selene what the merpeople were like, whether she saw the Giant Squid, if Grindylows almost got her like they got Fleur. Ignoring all of them, Selene looked over towards the Slytherin table, where everyone looked considerably less enthusiastic about her tale. In fact, Flint was going as far to shoot her dirty looks every other second, like her survival was a personal insult to him.

Draco looked up from Crabbe and Goyle (she should really call them Vincent and Gregory but Selene thought their last names suited them better) and met his sister's gaze, nodding almost unperceptively. The he stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, not really attracting any attention but a few curious people turned his way. Selene left it a couple of minutes before excusing herself and following him down to the Dungeon corridor.

Sitting down on the floor, next to him, Selene could feel the anger coming off him in waves.

"What aren't you telling me?" He asked, not turning to face her. "Everyone's flocking around you, all swapping stories around the campfire like Hufflepuffs. You acted like a bloody Gryffindor! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I'm not brave enough to be a Gryffindor. There is a reason I'm in Ravenclaw. That was just a one-off time, who else was going to help Fleur?" Selene blew a piece of hair out of her face and glanced up at the light. "Come on. It's only a one-off."

Draco looked at his older sister. "What are you keeping from me?"

Burying her head in her hands, Selene held a little debate with herself. She should tell him, really. They never held secrets from each other, not even when she became friends with a muggle-born, not when she became a Ravenclaw, not even when she and Fred were at each other's throats.

"He kissed me."

Draco looked at Selene like she was insane. "Zabini?"

"No, you pink marshmallow." Selene couldn't resist it; she cracked a little smile. These marshmallow nicknames were strange. "Fred Weasley. He kissed me."

There was silence. It echoed in the empty corridor. Selene swallowed, dropping her gaze and trying to work out what Draco's expression meant. His blue eyes were cold and unfeeling, so close to her father's. His mouth was unreadable, a very thin line. His Slytherin green robes seemed almost black in the dim light to her.

"You said you'd sort this out!" Draco exclaimed suddenly. "You said it was just a phase and that you'd be normal again before I could say marshmallow!"

"But the pact…" Selene bit her lip. "We always said, if you didn't tell Mother and Father about my friendships, then I wouldn't tell them about your detentions and what you get them for. Ever since I joined Hogwarts. And this includes it Draco, I don't feel anything for him!" She lied, fiddling with her fingers. "He's just someone I shouldn't have led astray. I don't love him."

Those last four words felt like a curse, but Draco at least seemed pacified, even if his stony exterior didn't change. "You are a terrible liar." He eventually compromised with, looking away from her.

He stood up and glanced up to the ceiling like it might hold the answer to all of his problems. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was uncomfortable. If either of them spoke then everything would come into focus, which is exactly what Selene didn't want to happen.

"Yes, okay, I love him." She found herself snapping at him. "I love him. I LOVE HIM! Okay, I love a Weasley, does it really matter that much? Look at Aunty Bella and Uncle Rody, both big, posh, rich pure-bloods, and they've never exactly been the most perfect couple. But then again," Selene thought wildly. "Aunty Dromeda, why do you think we've never met her, why I never knew I had cousins until this year? She married someone our grandparents didn't like."

"Yes, AND YOU'LL GO THE SAME WAY!" Draco yelled. "Father won't hesitate Selene; you've made too many mistakes already. One more any you'll be out of our family before you can say marshmallows."

Selene stood up and gripped his shoulders, spinning him to face her. "But they're happy Draco. They have a proper family, not just one based on mutual understanding. Now I don't know the first thing about love, or even… straightening my bloody hair! But I'm clever, and I'm in Ravenclaw for a reason. What I know is what I know, and it's kept me going this far. Yes, so I've fallen for a red-headed absolute git, but at least he understands me. You know me so well, better than everyone else here, our strange marshmallow nicknames and our mad inside jokes, and you know better than anyone what I want the most."

The words hung in the air like fog, but Draco didn't move to turn away. He and his sister were around the same height, so he didn't have to look down or up to directly meet her eyes. He gritted his teeth. "I can't lose you. The pact is off."

"So you'll tell them-"

"Everything." Draco supplied, looking guilty but determined. "Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe, your grades in Potions, Fleur Delacour, the Mudblood Gryffindor, the Weasels, those… those annoying twins, Fred Weasley, Harry Potter, being in touch with Lily Tonks, every little tiny insignificant detail that you overlooked. Maybe they can save you from whatever you'd do next."

She watched him walk away, and the full weight of what he'd just told her fell on her stomach. This was it. There was no turning back. She might as well go and chuck her viola out of Ravenclaw tower. Because she could tell something was going to change this year, but to begin with Selene'd dismissed it as a premonition of a new haircut or Cho finally getting somewhere with Cedric. Not something as big as this.

Fred's P.O.V.

With badly disguised relief, Fred walked back to the Gryffindor table, thanking the god of pranking and all things firework-related that she had left before she had noticed him.

Lily's face looked impressively calculating, all things considered, so Fred quickly took a different turn, walking out into the Entrance Hall for no reason other than he wanted to get away from that girl before she broke his ego beyond repair. Egos were hard to build and expensive to replace, at least in is case. Fred's had taken many years of pranking and flirting to create and manipulate, and it was a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, Lily could destroy it with a flex of her pinkie.

"AND YOU'LL GO THE SAME WAY!" Someone yelled from the Dungeons, and Fred looked around in surprise. That was slightly mad, why would anyone ever be outside of a room full of food? Food was the second most important thing in life, after pranking. Except Selene, but who knows what went through that girl's head sometimes? Not that he cared really, but it would be nice if she was thinking about him…

Fred smirked. He was glad George couldn't read his mind; his ego would be in pieces on the floor if he could. Again, George was pretty informed himself, sneaking around spying on people when they are trying to hold a serious "conversation".

There were a series of loud bangs from the Dungeons and Fred frowned. Was someone planning a prank without him? This wasn't right at all. He was the King, no, the GOD of pranking. Co-God maybe. But still, no one could prank without his help, they'd fail epically. Only the Weasley twins could provide help of any pranking kind.

So, with that ego-enlarging thought in his mind, he walked importantly down the stairs that led to the Dungeons.

"Selene?" His eyes widened as he saw the girl on the floor. "I didn't know you were in Slytherin?" He joked lamely.

She looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes, choking on a sob. He'd never seen her so… hopeless. And he did something he'd never considered himself capable of doing before.

"Are you okay?" He crouched down next to her, silently willing her not to burst into tears at the sight of him. "Not…"

"He knows…" She gasped, brushing a few tears off her face. "Draco... he…" Selene gasped again and was unable to continue her sentence. Fred slipped a consoling arm around her shoulders, feeling her relax into him and let the tears come.

"I'm going to take you to Professor Flitwick, okay?" He said slowly, bringing her to a standing position. "You're going to need to walk though; I think people would get the wrong idea if I carried you."

She didn't laugh, which was unusual, she laughed at all of his jokes, just about. For once she wasn't laughing or smiling or giggling, not even hexing him. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable, for the whole time he'd known her she'd never cried in front of any of her friends. And here he was, with a few months of knowing her and a single kiss behind him and she implicitly trusted him more than she even trusted Fleur and Cho. Truly, he should feel a little wary or even nervous, but Fred could only feel slightly uncomfortable.

They didn't pass anyone on the walk up to the fourth floor, mainly because Fred slipped through a passageway located behind a picture of the four founders in an effort to speed their journey up. He'd only done anything of this kind with George, guiding Ginny through the stares that seemed to follow her even a whole summer after the Chamber of Secrets incident.

But now he was completely alone, except for the girl hanging off his shoulder.

"Selene?" He asked quietly, feeling her nod wordlessly. "What happened?"

She took a deep breath and sniffed slightly. "I'm sorry." She choked out.

"It's okay, we're friends, right?" Great, now he just friend-zoned the girl he was in love with. "Um… yeah."

There was a slightly awkward silence and Fred fought the urge to face-palm. This pseudo-relationship was going to be the death of him. One minute he was being blackmailed by Lily into going to talk to her and then getting out of it, the next he was comforting her in the middle of an empty secret passageway. He knew next to nothing about her, but seeing her like this made him feel like he knew all there was to know.

He knew she was a Chaser, and a fairly good one at that. He knew she couldn't dance to save her life. He knew her favourite colour was light blue, that she read books avidly and that her Quidditch team was the Holyhead Harpies. Her best friends were Fleur, Cho Hermione and George. And that was all.

What he didn't know was exactly what he wanted to know. How could she see Thestrals, for one thing? And why was she crying all alone in the middle of a corridor?

"He knows." Selene repeated, finally getting a hold on herself. "I've always been crap at lying. I tell him one thing and he knows it's the other."

"Who knows?" Asked Fred, keeping a gentle grip on her lower arm. "Who knows Selene?"

"My brother." She averted her gaze, biting her lip. "My brother knows. He knows that I… I… that I…"

Her stuttering and red face went unnoticed by Fred, who was focusing on only her words. "That you…?" He prompted, suddenly becoming aware of the heat rising in his own face. Why was he even blushing? Did he have an evil twin (not George, oh Godric, evil triplet) that blushed for him?

"That I, uh…" Selene couldn't bring herself to look anywhere near him. Fred, for his part, was too busy trying to work out if he and George could have a evil triplet to notice.

"That I love you."

She whispered those words, so they were almost inaudible. Almost. Because those four words started something inside of Fred, prodding him until he became entirely focused on the girl next to him in that deserted passageway.

"You what?" He breathed, hardly daring to believe that Hermione might be right about something other than schoolwork.

"That I love you." Selene buried her head in her hands, whispering again and wishing she could be anywhere but here, right now, admitting her feelings to someone she barely knew.

The repeating of those four words made it impossible for Fred to push on, actually remember what he was supposed to be doing. Slowly, but deliberately, he moved one hand away from her face, then the other. "You love me?" He asked quietly, tilting her chin so he was looking directly into her eyes. "You, Selene whatever Malfoy, daughter of two of society's biggest pricks and sister to the world's biggest arsehole, love me?"

She bit her lip again, as is she was about to say something else, but Selene nodded her head once, up and down, before closing her eyes. Before he could change his mind, Fred nodded too.

"I love you too." He said, but in a normal voice. Selene's eyes snapped open, and her lips parted in a gesture of shock. She seemed lost for words. "Yes, I love you. Shout it to the heavens, why don't you? I, Fred Weasley, the most enigmatic, amazing person in the history of amazing people have fallen in love with someone, a prefect and a geek as well. Get over it."

When he kissed her this time, there was nothing gentle or innocent about it, it was hungry and passionate, simply a way to hang onto her for as long as Fred could. A way to tell her everything without sounding like an idiot. And she understood them, because Selene relaxed almost instantly, instinctively placing one hand on his shoulder as Fred let the hand that was holding her chin up drop.

"YAY! AT BLOODY LAST!" George yelled, jumping out from behind a tapestry, one of the few that decorated this passage. "LEE! I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU! THREE GALLEONS TO ME!"

Fred looked like he was about to murder his twin brother. "George, what do you think you're doing?"

Shrugging, George cracked a manic grin. "Spying on you my dear brother. It is quite fun, you know. We all agree."

Selene looked like she wanted the ground to open and swallow her up. "How many of them are there?" She asked warily, glancing at George.

In answer to this, Lee, Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Hermione, Ron, Harry and even Ginny stepped out. Ginny grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet before thrusting her hand out in greeting. Living with six brothers had made her very forward. "Ginny Weasley. I apologise for my brother's behaviour, he-" Here she shot a glare at George. "-has never been tactful. I hope for the sake of his future wife that he doesn't act like this when I get a boyfriend."

George gulped. Ginny smiled sweetly at him before tuning back to Selene. "Anyway, it's been lovely to meet you. Even if I met you just after you've snogged dearest Freddie senseless."

"OI!" Fred exclaimed, as Selene possibly went even redder. "You're my little sister; you're not supposed to make comments like that!"

Shaking her head sadly, Ginny reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "That's what they all say Freddie dearest, that's what they always say."

Lee looked between Fred and Selene for a couple of seconds, before grudgingly reaching into his pocket and passing George three galleons. "I now hold a personal vendetta against you." He brandished a quill pen, which happened to be the only thing he could find, in Selene's direction with a smile on his face. "Lee Jordan. I'm afraid I can never look at you prefects the same way again, now I know what you do in your free time."

He gave Selene a roguish wink. "We don't, I mean we don't-"Selene protested, looking around for a way to get out of there.

"Sure you don't." Alicia raised her eyebrows. "Ignore her Lee; everyone knows those two can't keep their hands off each other."

Fred grinned, running a hand through his hair, while Selene attempted to blend into the shadows. Katie giggled at their different reactions, earning her a sharp glance from George. Angelina just rolled her eyes and pulled Selene out of the wall with a sharp yank. "I must warn you, he doesn't seem to understand how normal human beings think and work." She warned, but sounding kind all the same. "Just be grateful Wood left last year Fred, he'd think Selene was only out to get the Quidditch secrets."

"Wood?" Selene found her voice again. Everyone stared at her in utter amazement. She didn't know who Oliver Wood was. "You mean Oliver Wood?"

"Blimey Fred, I admire your style and everything but she doesn't know who Oliver Wood is!" Ron gaped, blinking. "Selene, have you been living under a rock for the last three years?"

"She's in Ravenclaw, I doubt all Ravenclaws know who Oliver Wood is." Hermione pointed out, with a pointed glance at Selene. "And she does know he is, she's just trying to change the conversation topic."

"For the love of the Holy Hippogriffs Hermione." Selene said under her breath. "Guys, I have Arithmancy next, can you let me get to class?"

"OH! We have Defence Against the Dark Arts." Hermione spoke for a still incredulous Ron (he was still stick at "You mean Oliver Wood") and a freaked out Harry (who seemed unable to rid the image of a sensible Ravenclaw prefect and one of the pranking duo snogging in the middle of a passageway). "We'd better go."

**Let's leave it there.**

**READ AND REVIEW! Tell me what you think about Frelene. And yes, they are sort of dating now.**

**Eleanor xxx**

**P.S. Sorry my notes are so short!**


	24. Chapter 23: The Dog

**My reviewer: Kacey, Draco plays a significant role in the next few chapters, and his problems with Selene being different to their family are his main problems. Anyway, she'd been there for him more than their parents ever have been, I think he had a right to feel protective even if he's overreacting. **

**I don't own Harry Potter, sorry!**

* * *

"You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be." Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls

* * *

Chapter 23: The Dog

"Ah, Miss Malfoy." Professor Flitwick squeaked, holding open the door to his office. "Do come in, yes, come in my dear."

"Thank you Professor." Selene seated herself on one of the chairs situated opposite Flitwick's desk, glancing out the window to see the bright blue sky. Just another reason she loved that colour.

Perching himself atop the many cushions, Professor Flitwick shuffled the pieces of paper around on his desk and proceeded to search for something amidst the clutter. "Ah, here we go!" He exclaimed, producing a piece of parchment from the mess. "Gave me quite a shock this did Miss Malfoy, yes it did."

"May I ask what it is Professor?" She asked politely, diverting her attention to the tiny Professor. "That is, if I am not being rude."

Flitwick nodded, smoothing the crumples and creases out of it. "You might as well ask my dear, as it does concern you, in fact." His smile fell slightly as he regarded his favourite student. "This is a letter Miss Malfoy. A letter concerning you, and…" He looked around wearily. "Your current education. As you may know, the Ministry have recently made it a policy for all teachers currently here at Hogwarts to run any queries past the Minister."

Selene was taken aback at this. Since when? "Professor, since when was this the common policy?"

"For around three months Miss Malfoy." Flitwick nodded. "But anyway-"

"Isn't that the same time as the Anti-Werewolf legislation came in?" She pointed out, fiddling with the sleeve of her robes carefully. "The one that prevented them from holding jobs that enabled them to be around normal wizards and witches daily?"

"At least some of my Ravenclaws keep up with the times." Professor Flitwick said with a smile, but his voice was cold. "You are correct, in fact Miss Malfoy. I can't understand that woman's thinking sometimes…"

Choosing not to ask or comment, Selene continued to fiddle with her robes, not meeting Flitwick's eyes, instead concentrating on the shuffling of paper and the slight clearings of his throat. Then he folded out the creases in the paper again, clearing his throat for one last, definite time. "But anyway. I applied for permission to tutor you Miss Malfoy." Selene's head snapped up. "Yes, you needn't look so surprised. As much as I know you try to deny it, you have an extraordinary aptitude for my subject. I have only had one other student like you. Unfortunately…"

Professor Flitwick stooped here, brushing tears out of his eyes. "That is neither here nor there my dear. No, I called you here to let you know of the outcome."

Hopping off the pile of cushions, the tiny Charms Professor scurried over to his overflowing bookshelf, taking a book from one of the lower shelves. He brushed some of the dust off it, blowing away the must that had collected over time, and perched himself atop his cushions again, cradling the old book tenderly between two hands.

It had a few mildew spots on the front cover, which was emblazoned with bronze lettering that had a slightly medieval feel over a faded red binding. The careful way Professor Flitwick handled it told Selene all she needed to know, it was old and it was his.

"I've had this since I was young." He explained, confirming her suspicions. "My father gave it to me, in fact, shortly after I started Hogwarts myself. There you go." He handed Selene the book, brushing another speck of dust off it. "Take a look."

"_The Ancient Art of Charmwork_." Selene read, tracing the calligraphic font on the _cover._ She carefully opened the book, reading the front inscription with interest. It had belonged to lots of owners, the names stretching down the side of the dedication page, ending with the name "Filius Flitwick, aged 11." The pages were almost as battered as the outside, crumpled slightly in places, covered in spots of dampness and having that musty smell that almost always seemed to linger in the bookshop in Hogsmede. Someone had drawn little characters that seemed to be vanquishing Dragons and Trolls around the page numbers, each time a different way.

The first chapter was entitled_ "The History of Charms". Selene skimmed the_ page in interest, before carefully closing the book again and handing it back to her Head of House. "That's amazing Professor! Is this the book you learnt from then?"

Flitwick opened the front cover again and smiled down at his eleven year-old handwriting. "As a matter of fact it was. But I have no more to learn from this my dear."

He produced a quill pen from the top drawer of his desk, dipped it in some ink and turned the dedication page, along with the long list of names, towards Selene. Handing her the quill pen with an encouraging smile, he nodded. "I have no more to learn from this book Miss Malfoy. You, however, do. You have a lot to learn, and I think with the correct training you could become exceptional. So, that book is yours now, until you pass it on to someone you deem worthy. Write your name in, and age."

Selene's eyes widened, but she inked in "Selene Malfoy, aged 16" almost gingerly, but carefully. As soon as she did, the book glowed a bright gold colour and the ink dried into the page. When she brushed her forefinger over the words, they didn't smudge. Professor Flitwick smiled nostalgically.

"That book will serve you well. It has for me. And it will for whomever you pass it on to. Now, if you meet me here next… Tuesday? At eight. We'll begin then."

Closing the book for her, Flitwick dropped the tome into Selene's hands before hopping off his cushions again and strolling over the door, leaving her lost for words. "I assure you I am most serious Selene. You are the most capable student I have seen for almost sixteen years. Now, I ask you to learn from that book like so many have before and come to this office next Tuesday. You have amazing talent and see a little of myself in you. It would be my pleasure to tutor you through the little time you have left here at Hogwarts."

"Thank you Professor." Selene smiled down at the huge book in her hands and walked out of the door, hardly daring to relive the conversation. "I… I will."

Giving her a small, rewarding smile, Professor Flitwick closed the door to his office quietly, leaving Selene standing in the corridor outside clutching _The Ancient Art of Charmwork _and blinking at the door.

There was no one else around as she slipped the heavy book into her bag, feeling the extra weight press down on her shoulder slightly. The silence was calming. No sooner had the fallout from the Second Task drifted its attention away from Selene, people began to become aware of her for other reasons. Gryffindors she had never seen or met before whispered to each other when they passed her in the halls, some even going as far as to wolf-whistle when they saw her. He'd wasted next to no time.

_Dear Diary,_

_ Right, here goes. I'm _in _love with Fred Weasley._

_ Shocker, right? I've been so busy, I haven't even had time to write this. To cut a long story short, he kissed me, twice, and now… I don't really know what. It's confusing as the Holy Hippogriffs. _

_ But, on a slightly less strange note, I've finally formally been introduced to Ginny Weasley. She's amazing, not a girly girl like many her age are, but tough as nails and hilariously blunt. Probably comes with having six brothers (how can she survive? I have trouble with just the one)._

_ I just wish that it was under less embarrassing circumstances. I wanted to curl up and die. Seriously, what thirteen year old goes up to her older brother's kind-of girlfriend and mentions that she's just "snogged dearest Freddie senseless"? Not me at thirteen, that's for bloody sure. Wow._

_ Kind-of girlfriend. I doubt anyone else has ever described themselves as a kind-of girlfriend. Ever. I am different; I don't have any social skills. I am probably the only person to ever get a nosebleed from running into a door. And now I have an almost-boyfriend who I am somehow irrevocably in love with. _

"Selene!" Selene looked around to see Fred walking down the corridor towards her with a huge grin on his face. "I was looking for you. Do you want to go to Hogsmede with me?"

"Sure." Selene smiled back at her almost-boyfriend.

"Great!" Fred grabbed her arm and begun to tow her along the corridor towards the stairs. "George is busy up to something or other, to be honest I don't have the faintest idea where Lee is and the girls are doing some boring gossipy stuff that apparently I'm not allowed to join because I'm not a girl. Not that you're last on my list or anything, but I just really wanted to help Lee find out if Alicia really wears pink pyjamas."

"Wait, now?" She looked around wildly. "It's eight-thirty at night Fred, and we should really be in our common rooms."

"Of course now!" Fred slowed to a walking pace so Selene could keep up. "Don't tell me you've never sneaked out of Hogwarts before? Ever? There are so many different secret passageways that reach out of the school, and you've never once tried to sneak out?"

"I thought only Filch knew about the passageways." Biting her lip, Selene sneaked a glance at the red head beside her. "Evidently not."

"Ah ha!" Fred grinned, running a hand through his hair. "All with a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs love. That's all I'm saying."

With a roguish wink, he sped up his pace slightly, Selene having to jog lightly to keep up, until they were running along the corridor. Fred slipped his hand into hers and guided her to the stairs, leading her to the floor below and finally slowing to a stop at the statue of the one-eyed witch.

"Watch carefully, love." He said after they had regained their breath back. "You never know when Filch might be on your trail and you need to make a hasty getaway."

"Why would I need to run from Filch in the first place?" Selene asked, looking from Fred to the statue weirdly. "I'm a Prefect, normally people run from me."

If it was possible (which it couldn't be) Fred's grin grew even more bright. "All part of being the girlfriend of a master prankster. You can't be inducted into the Weasley Twin's cult without pranking Filch at least once."

"Cult?" Selene wondered where his sense of sanity was, if he'd ever had one. "You have a cult?"

Shushing her with a finger to her lips, Fred took his wand out of his pocket and tapped the hump of the witch. "_Dissendium._" He said audibly, and the statue creaked open, leaving a black gaping hole where it has previously been. "Come on then."

Selene stepped into the hole created by the statue and immediately lost her footing, slipping down the slope that led to the base of the passage and landing on her front, face-planting the floor. She pushed herself up on her elbows, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

Fred laughed and made a much more graceful entrance, offering his hand to Selene who gratefully accepted it. "Sorry, I should've told you about that. That happens to everyone; in fact I think George bumped into the wall."

"Are there any more…" Selene searched for the right word. "Slopes I should know about?"

"Nah." Shaking his head and chuckling loudly, Fred began to move along the passageway, checking behind him every so often to make sure Selene was there. "You can take my word for it, prankster's honour."

The passageway was long and straight, quite boring in retrospect but rendered difficult by the absence of any light. "_Lumos._" Selene said, as a glowing blue light popped up at the end of her wand. Fred looked around in surprise for the source, but seeing Selene's wand he relaxed.

"So." He began, as they began to climb a little hill. "What's your middle name?"

"Why?" Selene asked, ducking a jutting piece of rock as they climbed higher.

"So when I need to, I don't have to say 'Selene something Malfoy!' or 'Selene whatever Malfoy'. " He explained, not looking behind him. "Oooh, actually, can I guess? It took me three weeks to guess Angelina's middle name, in the end I just owled her cousin."

"Okay, you can guess." Selene bit her lip again as she almost slipped over. "But it's quite easy really."

"Selene… Celestia?" Fred asked, glancing back to see an incredulous expression on Selene's face. "You're right, that was quite a stupid guess. Selene… Smartarse?"

Frowning slightly, Selene shook her head. "If that's my name, is yours Fred the Annoying or Fred the Idiotic?"

"I quite like Fred the Enigmatic actually." He revealed, stopping in the middle of the passageway as if to think. "Yes. Call me Freddie the Enigmatic."

"Quite a big word for such a slacker _Freddie_." Selene teased, unconsciously moving closer to him as she did. "Come on, if you're not going to be sensible I'll tell you. I'm Selene Narcissa Malfoy."

"Selene Narcissa Malfoy." Fred said, letting the name roll out slowly. "I like it. Sounds… mystical. Better than Frederick Gideon Weasley, anyway."

"Frederick?" Selene allowed herself a little smile. "Gideon? Wow, and I thought my name was bad."

"Don't call me Frederick." He growled. "No one ever calls me that, except Mum when I've done something really bad."

"Yes Freddie." Selene grinned, watching Fred's expression morph into one of exasperation as she said it. "What? Don't like that one either? Wow, and I thought Draco had a problem with his name."

"Nah, you can call me Freddie if you want." Fred moved closer to her so their noses were touching, but barely. "But what about what I asked you to call me before? I still think love sounds pretty good."

"Isn't that what you call me?" Selene was so close to him she could smell vanilla and gunpowder.

"Ravenclaws." Fred rolled his eyes. "Love, you are too stubborn for your own good. Come on, you can't resist this pranking god when he's in action. You can fool me with your pretty face, but you can't get away from this."

"What are you going to do? Prank me to death? Sorry, but I don't want 'Death by Ginger Prankster' engraved on my tombstone, and to be honest I can see you killing me any other way." Ducking around him to continue along the passageway, Selene felt her foot slip again on a puddle and she fell against the wall, hitting her head on the ceiling. "Okay, maybe I don't need you to kill me. I think I can do it myself." She groaned as Fred snickered. "But if I'm breaking about twenty-five million and one rules by doing this, then I'm seriously going to need to sort myself out."

"You don't need to!" Fred exclaimed dramatically, throwing his arm around Selene. "You, my dear, are taking one small step on the long, long road to recovery."

"Recovery?" Selene sighed. "I'm complete-"

Her head hit a trapdoor and Selene stopped in her tracks, looking at Fred in surprise. He rolled his eyes and stepped in front of her again, pushing the trapdoor open with one hand and peeking out to check if anyone was outside the trapdoor.

"All clear." He decided, opening the trapdoor fully with a satisfying thump on the stone floor of wherever they had come out at. "Come on out love."

Selene climbed out after him, startled somewhat by the bright light after the darkness of the passageway. After extinguishing the light emitting from her own wand, she looked around with a vague hope of discovering where they were. It only took a couple of seconds.

"Honeydukes?" Impressed despite herself, Selene smiled around at the cellar resonating with a pungent smell of Fizzing Whizzbees and Sugar Quills. "Wow."

"And here was me thinking I'd never be able to impress my lovely girlfriend." Fred smiled back at Selene, a smile that made her logical mind that was currently shrieking that they were breaking so many rules by being here, after hours too completely dissipate into the air. "You are a girl of many secrets Selene. How many things don't I know about you?"

Panic gripped Selene momentarily but she shrugged it off as soon at it had appeared. That was not for now, not for ever. It was completely unfounded anyway, the panic. It was in the past. "Quite a lot." She said, truthfully, turning around to see the trapdoor blending back into the stone floor. "What don't I know about you?"

"I can fling a gnome for 30 feet." Fred stated proudly. "I'm almost as good as Mum."

Selene looked above them quickly as the floorboards creaked. "The owners live above the shop, can't they hear us?"

Fred shrugged. "Deaf as a doorpost they are. Don't worry about it, I won't get your little prefect head into detention yet love, I'm saving that for another time."

"I'm sure I can't wait." Selene said, trying to sound sarcastic but obviously failing as a huge grin spread over Fred's face. "I wasn't… oh well."

Soon they were outside in the cool night air, in the empty high street. "What's the point of breaking into Hogsmede if nothing is open?" Selene asked, looking around at the closed up storefronts. "You and George must do this all the time, so what do you do?"

"Jump out at people mostly." Seeing the worried look on Selene's face, Fred hastily added; "Don't worry, no one recognises us. It's too dark."

Slightly less worried but still nervous, Selene allowed herself to be led down the High Street towards Zonkos. Fred was right, it was too dark for anyone to be able to even see them and no one was around at this time of night anyway. It was a full moon, and as Selene looked up at the sky her thoughts lingered on Professor Lupin, their Defence against the Dark Arts teacher last year, who had turned out to be a werewolf. Her father was one of the parents who had campaigned to have him sacked. It was a shame; Professor Lupin was easily the best teacher they'd had in the subject even with Professor Moody in the mix.

"What's on your mind?" Fred asked her, cocking his head to one side as he regarded the girl on his left.

"Professor Lupin." Selene said truthfully, pointing up at the full moon. "I wish he was still here this year. Quirrel was terrible, Lockhart was an all-out arsehole, and Moody… to be honest he scares me slightly. But Professor Lupin was an amazing teacher, and it was down to him I actually passed my OWL."

"Didn't you get an O though?" Fred asked her curiously.

Selene shook her head. "An E. It would've been an O, but I had a bit of a problem with the Boggart." She admitted, shivering at the thought.

Before Fred could answer, a big, black dog bounded out of the alleyway, almost knocking Selene over. It stopped in front of them, looking up at them with big grey eyes and cocking its head to one side much like Fred had done, almost if it was looking at them like he recognised them.

Something was off about that dog. Selene squeezed her eyes tight shut and open them again, looking into the dog's grey eyes intently. They didn't look feral or dog-like; they were distinctly human eyes, in a dog. And the way the dog was looking between Selene and Fred and their intertwined fingers, it almost looked _proud_.

Then, as quickly as the dog had appeared, it ran off back down the alleyway. One glance at Fred told Selene that he was just as confused as she was.

"I could have sworn that…" His brow furrowed slightly. "I thought… no, it doesn't matter. Come on, I still want to show you something."

"What?" Selene asked, forgetting about the dog-that-wasn't-a-dog. "You wanted to show me something?"

"You sound like a broken record." Fred grinned at her, squeezing her hand. "Come on love."

He turned down a road Selene had never been down before, leading further away from the high street and closer towards the housing area of Hogsmede. One of the many perks of living in an entirely wizarding area was the fact that you could 'customise' your house. Each house was painted a luridly bright colour, glow-in-the-dark orange, green, fluorescent yellow, every shade of red under the sun.

"Get a move on." Fred rolled his eyes at Selene's fascination with the houses. "If you think they're strange, you should see my house. Completely barmy, held up by magic. Not to mention the gnomes in the back garden and the ghoul in the attic."

He pulled her down a narrow street, away from the bright houses and into the dark. They walked in silence for a while, until Fred stopped and pointed out an old rusted sign swinging in the breeze.

Selene squinted in the dark to try to see it. "_Buntel's Antique Book Shop…" _She read out. "Antique books?"

"I know!" Fred grinned proudly up at the sign. "Took me ages to find. That's kind of the point really, no one really knows about this little beauty, not even the Professors. It's closed at the moment; everything is, but Cho seems pretty annoying so if you ever needed a little space…?"

"I love you." Selene said decisively, transferring her gaze to Fred. "You are officially my favourite person ever. I absolutely love you."

"I would hope so, since you are dating me, love." He pointed out.

"Am I dating you?" Selene asked, quickly becoming confused. "Am I?"

"Yes. We kissed, I love you, you love me, I think we're dating." Fred face-palmed as Selene's expression still came up slightly confused. "Alright then. Selene Narcissa Malfoy. Will you go out with me?"

"Okay." Selene said, feeling slightly foolish. "Um… sorry, you know? I'm not very good at all of this… dating stuff."

"It's fine." Fred shrugged off. "Practice makes perfect, that's what everyone always says."

Selene giggled at the expression on his face, he looked like a penguin had just eaten his lunch: pleasantly surprised. "We can't stay out here all night; Cho kills me and buries me under Ravenclaw tower just for daring to step out of the common room after curfew. If she realises I wasn't even in school she'll probably murder me, bring me back just to murder me again and then plant the evidence on Zabini."

"I guess." Fred groaned, wrapping his arm around Selene's waist. "Why do you have to have such annoying friends?"

She chose not to answer that and instead focused on the warm feeling affect he had on her. Neither of them spoke. It wasn't an awkward silence, for which Selene was devoutly grateful; it was treading the fine line between comfortable and comforting.

A loud barking sound echoed out of the darkness and Selene whipped round, stumbling slightly as she did. The big, black dog from earlier was behind them, directly behind them.

"Is that the dog from earlier?" Fred asked aloud. "The one that ran out in front of us?"

The dog woofed in agreement, and Selene's eyes widened. Did he just… agree with Fred? Could he understand them, everything they were saying? And how long had the dog been there?

It still looked almost human if you looked into its grey eyes, and the proud look that Selene had noticed was still there, in full force. She'd never seen this dog before today, dogs were Muggle pets anyway, you wouldn't catch one anywhere near the Malfoy estate, but it still sparked recognition inside her. Not strong recognition, but the smallest variant, déjà vu if you liked.

It woofed again, and nodded before running back into the shadows again. Fred instinctively dropped his arm from around Selene's waist, but then realising what he'd unconsciously done quickly wrapped it around her shoulders instead. "Come on, we need to get back." Fred didn't sound like the dog had unsettled him. "It's just a dog."

"Okay." Selene agreed, half of her thoughts still with the dog. "Sorry, it just felt familiar somehow."

It was past ten when they arrived back at the passageway again, Selene being painstakingly careful not to slip like she had done previously.

"What do you have against Zabini?" Fred asked her as they were safely walking back towards the castle again. "Apart from him being in Slytherin, I mean."

It was such a tiny, trivial thing that Selene smiled, despite her unsettling thoughts. "Oh, he's been chasing me since I met him. He's under the impression that I actually like him and I'm simply playing hard-to-get. I don't even get a break from him over the holidays; he's over at the Manor every other day."

"I'll prank him." Fred decided on a whim. "I take it he knows nothing about anything you get up to? This will be fun…"

Selene rolled her eyes. "The day he leaves me alone will be the day I prank McGonagall."

"I'm going to hold you to that little statement." Warned Fred, already planning how to get Zabini off her back.

**That was really fun to write.**

**I'm not kidding though, I loved that chapter, simply because it's awesome.**

**Anyway, I'd love your feedback, so read and review!**

**Can I just say, I'm off to Germany next Thursday so if this is the last chapter I get done before then, I won't be around until two Wednesday's time. Reviews in this increment of space and time would be like gold dust.**

**I love you all (not in that way… friends.)**

**Eleanor xxx**


	25. Chapter 24: I'll Be Your Gryffindor

**I'm sorry I've been away for so long; Germany was bloody amazing, hot, awesome etc. I hope this chapter is worth the wait**

**Thanks to Kacey for her review, it was just a school trip and also to BellatrixD – thanks for the reviews anyway, even if they are a tad irregular! Guest, thanks. That is all I have to say. And The souless ones, I await your verdict! Skipping back, also to cheeseandoreosHP for her lovely review on chapter 15, that is the best praise I could get.**

**Also, I have passed 10k views! Thank you all!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"And I'll surrender up my heart, and swap it for yours." - Lego House by Ed Sheeran

* * *

Chapter 24: I'll Be Your Gryffindor

_Mother hardly ever mentioned him. My cousin, that's all I know of him._

_ And now… I don't know. I never knew, and now I never will. I think of him now, looking up at the moon. The moon, that large celestial object that I am named after. Selene, goddess of the moon. It's only when I can see the moon that I can relax._

_ I'll be back at school in a matter of weeks, away from 'home'. Always in inverted commas that. Away from the dust that seems to gather in our hallways now Dobby has escaped._

_ Two tears flop down my cheeks as I think of the house elf. I am pleased; my family routinely abused him even when he had done right. Made him shut his fingers in the oven, iron his ears out, set his head on fire… all to see him break. But he didn't, and as much as I know I shouldn't I miss him more than anyone could have thought possible._

_ He was my only friend, from when I was a toddler to when I left for Beauxbatons. I like to think I never pushed him aside, but that is a lie. I did, and now he's gone I will never be able to remedy that._

_ Father's anger is even more terrible these days. I don't know why, but something has gone wrong and he is still reeling from the blow Dumbledore shot him. The blow Harry Potter gave him. He is no longer as important, but he holds more power in his pinkie than the rest do put together. _

_ Mother won't even look at me or Draco. Normally I would accept this as normality and move on, but for her to place Draco aside is abnormal. He is the perfect child, even though I am the clever one. He is the loved one, although I try so hard. And I love him unconditionally, through his tantrums and spoilt brat fits. Because I know that underneath his exterior, he is as innocent as everyone else, as much as he tries to hide it._

_ Our money might have brought him his nature, our status in society his arrogance, but I know that those things have not changed me as much. The only thing they have successfully done is build up my walls between reality and my memories. And right now, what I need to remember will not come to me._

_ Grey eyes and black hair. I can only remember one person with grey eyes and black hair, and it is not the person I am searching for. I don't want to remember that person, it hurts too much. I cried all night when I heard. I knew he understood me. _

"Perfect!" Professor Flitwick squeaked as Selene produced a perfect Total Shield Charm. "You really have studied that book well Miss Malfoy, now if you'll look here…"

The old tome lay open in the middle of his desk, which was cleared of all clutter ready for her extra lessons. Selene pored over the book next to her Professor, smiling to herself. That charm had taken her a whole night to perfect, and praise just made the achievements seem more precious to her.

"If you could try the next step up – a Designated Shield Charm – for next Tuesday, I think that should sufficiently challenge you, If you have any qualms please do not hesitate to contact me. I'll see you at around 10 am; you have a free lesson then, don't you?"

Selene walked out of his office with a sight smile on her face, sliding the book back into its gap between her Arithmancy book and its Ancient Runes counterpart. Charms was such an interesting subject, there were so many disciplines you could study and its history and its roots…

"Did you have another private lesson?" Hermione asked her, catching up with Selene on their way down to the Great Hall. To anyone else they might have judged Hermione as mightily jealous about Selene's extra lessons, but she was in fact extremely impressed. "So you perfected that Total Shield Charm then?"

Nodding, Selene answered; "Just about. I've got a Designated Shield Charm next."

"Oooh!" Hermione gasped. "They're extremely hard; I've only ever read about them! If you manage that one…"

"I know." Selene laughed. "I'm not amazing Hermione, I just... try hard. Anyway, How's Harry getting on with his spells ready for the Third Task?"

"Quite good, actually, we've completed the Summoning Charm; obviously, I think I might teach him the Banishing Charm too, just in case."

"What about the Point Me Charm?" Selene suggested. "Um… it works a bit like a Muggle thing called a company or something."

"Compass." Hermione corrected gently. "It's called a compass. That does sound good, how do you do it?"

"Ladies, ladies, save the nerd talk for the lessons, alright?" Lee Jordan overheard them talking about spells. "We don't want my fabulousness tarnished by your geekiness, now, do we?"

Hermione and Selene shared an exasperated look, eventually deciding to just continue on to the hall like nothing had happened. Lee ran up alongside them, apparently determined to stop them talking about work, at least for a little while.

"Now, let's move on to more socially acceptable topics now, should we? What do normal girls talk about anyway?"

Hermione looked at Lee distrustfully. "Boys." She summed up in one word.

Lee's face wrinkled and he pulled a face. "Thank Godric you two aren't normal then." He said, relieved, before realising what he'd just said.

"Thanks Lee." Selene said drily, patting him on the shoulder. "And you wonder why no girl will ever date you."

They had reached the Great Hall by this point, and Selene instinctively made for the Ravenclaw table, before being casually moved by Hermione. "Come on, sit with us." She invited. "Everyone else does it. No one will really care. Come on."

So Selene was sat down next to Hermione and a boy with slightly singed eyebrows that she recognised as Seamus Finnegan. Seamus shook her hand warmly, with a little grin. "You're that Malfoy chick, aren't you?" He asked in a thick Irish accent. "Pleased to meet you, the name's Seamus, Seamus Finnegan."

"Selene." Selene introduced.

"Harry, Selene knows a spell that might help you." Hermione cut in, talking to Harry, who was seated across from her. Harry's glum expression perked up when he saw the Ravenclaw.

"You do? Which one?" He asked eagerly, ignoring his food for the meantime.

"It's called the Point Me Charm." Explained Selene. "The incantation is simply 'Point Me' with your wand lying flat in the palm of your hand."

Hermione nodded, producing a piece of parchment and a quill from her pocket. She quickly noted all of this down, before finishing with a flourish and stowing them back in her robes. "Great, now I was thinking-"

She was cut off by Fred miraculously appearing and motioning for Seamus to budge up slightly. Hermione buried her head in her hands, obviously giving up any hope for sensibleness at this moment in time.

"Hello love." He pecked Selene on the cheek before looking at Hermione. "Why so glum 'Mione? Has your crazy cat eaten any more of Ron's multitude of mice?"

"He's not crazy!" Hermione snapped. "He's just… touchy. And Ron doesn't have a mouse any more, and Pigwidgeon's the mad one."

"Pigwidgeon?" Selene raised an eyebrow.

"Ginny." Ron didn't look up, just pointed his knife at where his sister was sitting with her friends. "She has terrible naming skills. I feel sorry for her kids; she'll probably call one Elvendork Englebreath or something."

Everyone laughed at the name, and Ron went back to his sandwiches with renewed vigour. Hermione rolled her eyes then looked up at the enchanted ceiling in surprise.

"Is that an owl?" She asked, pointing up at where a grey owl was swooping around. "They normally come at breakfast, don't they?"

The owl swooped down to the Gryffindor table, and Selene's eyes widened. "Apophis?" She asked. She could feel the gazes of everyone on her. "Um… my family's owl. I don't know why he'd be here though, I've got Cress and Draco's got Rudy."

The owl didn't stop, just dropped at letter in front of Selene before flying off into the ceiling again. Most were too focused on the owl to notice the recipient or even the letter, but Ron looked up from his plate and gaped at what the owl had given Selene. Hermione was next to snap out of it, picking up the red envelope gingerly.

"Open it." Hermione passed it to Selene quickly. "It's a million times worse if you don't."

"Have they sent you a Howler?" Fred asked, craning forward to see. "What have you done t-"

The rest of his sentence was drowned out as the envelope burst into flames and Ron jumped backwards. Selene, who was still holding the letter, dropped it quickly, and it landed on the Gryffindor table milliseconds before a loud voice boomed from it.

"THE THINGS I HAVE HEARD! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOUR AUDICITY! AFTER ALL THE CHANCES WE HAVE GIVEN YOU, AFTER EVERYTHING WE HAVE GIVEN YOU, EVERYTHING YOU COULD EVER WANT, AND YOU THROW IT BACK IN OUR FACES! WE FORGAVE YOU THE FIRST TIME, WE FORGAVE YOU WHEN YOU DISAPPOINTED US, WHEN YOU CHOSE TO MAKE FRIENDS WHO WERE BENEATH YOU, BUT THIS IS TOO FAR. DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THIS VERY MOMENT? DO YOU EVEN CARE? WHAT IS HAPPENING WILL AFFECT ALL OF US, AND YOU'RE TOO BUSY OFF WITH YOUR PATHETIC GRYFFINDOR FRIENDS TO CARE. YOUR BROTHER HAS TOLD US EVERYTHING, AND YOU ARE TREADING A VERY FINE LINE GIRL, YOU ARE ON THE BRINK OF IT. IF WE HEAR ONCE MORE THAT YOU ARE CONSORTING WITH MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD TRAITORS ALIKE, THEN YOU CAN CONSIDER YOURSELF A MALFOY ONLY BY NAME!"

The letter exploded into a million tiny fragments, and the Great Hall was in a shocked silence. Everyone had heard every single word of the Howler, and were now staring at the unfortunate recipient.

Selene felt light-headed, staring down at the faintest shadow of ash that outlined where the letter had fallen. She wished the ground would open up and just swallow her, anywhere was better than here. She couldn't meet anyone's gaze.

The look on George's face would have terrified even the bravest Gryffindor. He looked almost mutinous as he gritted his teeth and glowered at Draco over at the Slytherin table. Selene wanted to stop him, he wasn't worth it and it would just make things worse for her, but she couldn't move. Fred wordlessly placed a hand on her shoulder, shocking Selene out of her petrified state.

If she was braver, less scared, then she would have made a joke about how her father would have no voice after yelling all of that at her. But she was never brave; she was just scared, and nervous and shy. She could wish for a proper family, not a father that would yell verbal abuse at her and think nothing of it, and a mother that saw her as a way to uphold the Malfoy's pureblood status. But you can't choose your family.

She ran out of the Great Hall, not looking back, just wanting a way out of the deafening silence and the probing stares. There were only so many times that you could pretend that everything was okay, that everything wasn't falling apart, and the limit had just been crossed.

The air was pleasantly warm, but not hot, and the sun was high in the sky, Selene wished it was night, then she could see the moon and feel less alone. Ever since she was a tiny girl the moon had always seemed like a friend, and that nothing bad could happen when she could see it. That wasn't true of course; the moonlight shining over that body had proved her wrong.

And there was next to no point complaining about it, even if she gave it all up in this very spot, then she would still love him. Feelings aren't easy to manipulate, and every time she saw him she would feel a pang inside of her. She could pretend, but she couldn't actually stop loving him.

She loved his slightly crooked smile, and his chocolate-brown eyes, and his promise that he was probably going to make her prank Professor McGonagall in the near future, and the way he somehow got her to sneak out of school after curfew. And though she'd never admit it, his hair was amazing. She'd never admit it to Fred anyway; his ego was far too big as it was.

But that was beside the point.

"Selene?" Someone was calling. Selene didn't look up; she didn't really want to face him just yet. She had to keep so much from him, and for good reason. If he realised everything that was so fundamentally wrong with her, then he might not want to love her anymore. She'd fallen for him so quickly and so easily, and now she couldn't see life without him. It was like the beginning of a sick fairytale.

"Selene?" Fred called again, spotting her by the lake. "Selene." He repeated, slightly quieter.

"Hey." Selene answered as he sat down beside her. She didn't meet his eyes, she just kept on looking over the lake and to the hills beyond.

"George is busy getting told off by Professor McGonagall." He stated. Selene didn't look around at him. "He punched him. Your brother, I mean. George punched Malfoy."

Again, she didn't react, fiddling with her sleeve and biting her lip. "Draco's not worth it." She protested; looking straight forward with all the force she could muster. "It won't make him stop and he'll just tell Father that a Weasley punched him."

"You know I love you, right?" Fred asked, finally accepting that Selene wasn't going to look at him. "I know you're not telling me much at all, but I want you know that it won't change a thing between us. Everyone keeps secrets, even me and George, and it's no big deal.'

Feeling a tear fall down her cheek, Selene took a deep breath and curled her legs up to her body, resting her head on top. She closed her eyes. "I'm just scared." She admitted. "I'm no Gryffindor, I don't know the first thing about bravery, it's just me trying to help people and forcing myself to say and do things."

"You are brave."

Those three words could be interpreted so many different ways, but Selene just shook her head. "No, I'm not. If I was brave I could confront Draco myself, not have others do it for me. If I was brave I wouldn't be out here, I'd be inside getting over it. I'm a Ravenclaw, not a Gryffindor. I'm smart, not brave."

"I'll be your Gryffindor." Fred said, taking Selene's hand. "If you're not brave then, I can be brave for you. And you can do my homework."

Selene gave a strangled sob before throwing her arms around Fred, clutching him desperately. "Typical… Gryffindor…" She sobbed into his shoulder. "Always… trying… to get… out of work…"

Fred chuckled quietly, hugging her to him. "Calm down love, its okay. George has already done the physical damage, and I know Hermione isn't very happy either. It'll all be alright."

They sat there for a number of minutes, arms around each other like if they let go the other might leave. The sun went behind a cloud and the bright sunlight seemed diminished somewhat in the resulting shadow.

"Hi." Said a very bemused voice behind them, and Fred looked around to see George, a huge grin on his face. "Have you progressed to hugging now? Wow, kids these days grow up fast."

Fred's look would have made a lesser man shrivel up and die, but George didn't seem fazed. Selene flicked her eyes upwards from Fred's shoulder and stifled a little shriek, catapulting away from him and hoping that her hair wasn't giving George the wrong idea.

"I have to say Selene." George said evilly, a little twinkle in his brown eyes. "Punching your dear brother was a lot of fun. Can I do it again sometime?"

His expression made Selene giggle despite herself. "No, sorry." She apologised.

There was an almost angry look on George's face now and Selene self-consciously scrambled backwards when he started to advance towards her. "No, okay, you can! It's okay!" She squeaked.

"She fell for it." George deadpanned, before cracking a grin. "You plonker. You actually fell for that?"

Selene realised, and she stood up, feeling her face turn read when she realised she'd been tricked. "I hate you." She whined. "And no, you can't punch him again. Where did you punch him anyway?"

"Jaw." George sounded very pleased with himself. "Broke his pretty face too; I've got detention until the end of the year but it's definitely worth it."

"You didn't need to." Selene protested, biting her lip.

"Yes I did!" George countered, flinging an arm carelessly around her shoulders. "Mum's going to want to meet you now I've written to her explaining that Freddie has a girlfriend-"

"You told Mum?" Fred's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "I could kill you right now."

"-Anyway." George continued. "That is for another time, and as I was saying, now Mum knows she's going to want to meet you. And she's going to love you – 'You'll be such a good influence on him!'." George mimicked a high pitched voice. "Urgh, actually, really? Fred, remind me why you had to fall in love with an ickle Prefect?"

"I could kill you right now." Fred repeated ominously. "And we're the ones influencing her; and what better day to do it then April 1st?"

Selene looked from George to Fred as they began to silently exchange information. "Guys?" She asked, slightly freaked out. "What's so special about April 1st?"

Fred looked at her, aghast. "What's so special about that date? It's only the day to-"

"-prank-" George added.

"-annoy-" Fred explained.

"-and joke." George finished. "And not to mention-"

"-it's our birthday." They completed in tandem. Selene snorted.

"That's kind of a coincidence isn't it?" She asked. "You two, biggest pranksters in the history of pranking, born on the biggest day for pranking?"

"She's catching on." George said to Fred. "I'm starting to think she isn't as bad as I thought she was."

"Hey." Selene frowned. The twins chuckled, and Fred slipped his arm around the shoulder not currently occupied by George's arm. Together they began to walk her towards the castle, ignoring her protests. "Guys, I don't want to go back yet, people are just going to stare at me."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Then I'll punch them. Remember, I'm your Gryffindor. I do all the fighting, you do all the homework, and we share the snogging."

George face-palmed. He didn't say anything; he just wordlessly pretended to vomit into a nearby bush. "If you want my help dear brother, then you need to stop flirting with Selene here right under my nose."

Moving his arm from her shoulder to her waist, Fred pecked Selene's cheek and George rolled his eyes. "No can do Georgie."

The amount of people that turned to look at the trio as they re-entered the Great Hall was staggering, and Selene felt compelled to leave again, but between them the twins managed to guide her back to the Gryffindor table.

"Are you okay?" To Selene's surprise, it was Harry that spoke first. "Malfoy shouldn't have told your parents, it's your choice to tell them or not, not his."

"I'm fine thanks Harry." Selene lied, biting her lip. "I'd have to tell them anyway, and it'd probably be better anyway for Draco to tell them, not me."

"So…" Hermione began gingerly. "Is that it then?"

Selene shook her head. "No, they're going to want me back over summer, try and b-get some sense into me. I've got one last chance, that's what I gathered from that Howler. If I don't retract back to just my Ravenclaw friends, then…" She didn't continue her sentence. Lily spoke up from nearby.

"It's decided." She announced suddenly. "You're coming to Hogsmede with me next weekend, and you're going to meet my sister Dora, your other cousin. Mum will want to meet you too, no doubt about it, and so will Dad. They aren't all psyco in our family Selene. Come on, you know you want to."

"Thank you Lily." Selene said gratefully. "I'd love to meet Aunty Dromeda."

"And I know Mum and Dad would love to meet you too." Hermione cut in. "They are extremely interested in the Wizarding World, and it'll be nice for them to meet someone who has completely been submerged in it their whole life. And I know you're interested in the Muggle world too."

"And as I was saying, Mum will want to meet you." George added. "Our family is actually nice, unless you count Aunt Muriel which none of us do. She's a right bitch, never happy."

"You can have my aunt and uncle if you want." Harry groaned. "And my cousin Dudley. Seriously, just give me the word and they're yours."

"I'm okay." Selene grinned. "They can't be that bad. At least they don't- anyway."

Only Hermione noticed her near slip-up, and shot Selene a curious glance. Selene didn't meet her eyes.

Fred kissed Selene's cheek again, and Harry blushed and his head in his lunch. "I love you." He whispered into her ear. "My Ravenclaw."

Selene could feel her face heating up at the comment, and the look Ron gave them was terrifying. What did they all think Fred just said to her? Damn it. Her face was much too easy to blush. Now everyone thought he'd just made some innuendo or something.

"You look cute when you blush." Fred whispered again. Selene shot him a look as she flushed again. Was he doing this on purpose? He was doing this on purpose.

"It's not funny…"

"Yes, it is." George interjected a devious grin on his face. "You are incredibly sweet together, you know."

Now it was Fred's turn to glare at his brother while Ron laughed. "Oh, and I happen to know what you feel towards a certain Gryffindor Chaser too. Do you want me to tell Lily? Then keep quiet like a good boy and don't complain when I flirt."

Ron took a sip of his pumpkin juice at this point and promptly spat it out all over Hermione, who gave him an exasperated look and muttered "_Scourgify_.".

"Is it me or does he look jealous?" Fred murmured to Selene again. "Anyway, I think it's just fun to aggravate you by making you blush. You blush an awful lot though love, are you entirely sure it's normal?"

There was a slight commotion over at the Slytherin table and the group all looked around. Draco, still cradling his jaw with one hand, was hastily slipping into his spot between Crabbe and Goyle, trying not to attract too much attention but evidently failing.

Professor McGonagall walked over towards the Gryffindor table, stopping so she could see the clustered people around Selene. "Mr Weasley, please refrain from attacking Mr Malfoy again."

"Yes Professor." George droned, catching Selene's eye and shooting her a wink. "You have to admit though, he deserved it."

A smile twitched at the corners of Professor McGonagall's mouth. "It is not your place to say such a thing Mr Weasley, however I believe detention for the rest of the year is a little harsh. A month." She looked around the group some more, her gaze resting on Selene. "Miss Malfoy, I know that I am not your Head of House, but Professor Flitwick always speaks most highly of you and your abilities. So, if you are ever in need of someone to confide in."

She left off here, nodding curtly at George and giving Selene a tight-lipped smile. Then McGonagall was striding off towards the top table. "Did she just let you off?" Hermione asked, sounding disgusted. "I can't believe you! First you punch someone in the jaw – yes, okay, he deserved it! – And now Professor McGonagall is shortening your sentence. If I were her, I'd give you detention for two years."

"Thank Godric Hermione isn't a Professor then." Fred said dramatically, pretending to wipe sweat off his forehead. "Phew, you had me worried there."

Selene laughed at Fred's over-dramatic expression and he grinned at her, running a hand through his hair slightly nervously. "Oh, for the love of Gryffindor you two, stop flirting!" George groaned, face-palming. "And this is why I try not to get involved with your love life Freddie; you always turn out sickly-sweet."


	26. Chapter 25: Family Is Forever

**Oooh…**

**Hello! I feel happy today! Don't know why, but I'm just going to go with it.**

**So… to my reviewers. Numero Un, BellatrixD – for both your reviews (:D) thank you. I seriously think they bring the cuteness scale up to about 30 million sometimes, more Selene/George relationship stuff in here.**

**The souless ones (aka my good friend Viv), to review or not to review… that is the question. Ha ha! Lol. I think chapter 10 might be upset but I've checked it into therapy.**

**Kacey – thanks for the ego-boost, but be careful, I don't want to end up like Fred. **

**MarineAstriella, I'm glad you think I'm funny, I sometimes laugh at my own jokes. Is that okay?**

* * *

"I would dearly love to run away, from your shadows, for just one day." - One Day by KT Tunstall

* * *

Chapter 25: Family is Forever

Everyone tread carefully around Selene for the next few days. You couldn't have missed the Howler, and you couldn't have missed the way she reappeared twenty minutes later on the combined forces of Fred and George Weasley. And you most definitely couldn't have missed the way the twins almost always refused to let her out of their sight.

If someone whispered about the way she seemed slightly down ever since 'the incident' then they were likely to get shoved head first into a broom cupboard and locked in with the spiders and cobwebs. If they even hesitated to look at her during Charms, Transfiguration, Potions or Defence against the Dark Arts then they would have a red-head on them within milliseconds.

And it could be interpreted as either fortunate or unfortunate that Zabini was still not letting Selene go quite yet.

"You going to bed already?" He caught her on her way out of the library one night.

Selene looked at him in utter exasperation, and tightened her grip on the books she was holding. "Yes Zabini, I am. I have an apparition test Saturday anyway. And can you leave me alone?"

"Can I Slytherin?"He smirked, raising one eyebrow. "Oh darlin', you have no idea what you're missin'. Come on love."

"Shut. Up." Selene muttered, hoping for the first time that day that Fred or George was nearby. "I wouldn't even think of dating you even if I didn't have a boyfriend Zabini, you have to know that by now."

"Ditch the Weasel then." Zabini shrugged, having evidently decided to overlook the first part of her statement. "I'm sure your parents wouldn't have a problem with me, after all I am a Slytherin. Come on then love, what d'ya say?"

"Don't call me love." Squeaked Selene, walking backwards into a bookshelf as she did. "And you can forget it Zabini."

He didn't like her for more than her 'looks' and money anyway. She was simply just another person to add to his list. And he was repulsive anyway, with his fancy airs and graces and the blatant way he discriminated against people of anything less than pure-blood and anyone who held the right things in the balance. And anyway, if Selene wasn't a Malfoy, then he wouldn't look at her twice, despite how pretty he thought she was.

Fortunately, someone familiar walked in and Selene closed her eyes and sighed in relief, making Zabini jump and turn around to investigate the newcomer. She might have to sacrifice her status as a prefect who never got into much trouble, but Zabini was becoming too much.

"Hello love." Fred walked purposefully up to Selene and kissed her full on the mouth, turning her a crimson scarlet colour and causing Zabini to cringe somewhat. "You alright?"

Selene squeaked something that might have passed as an 'alright', and Fred wisely took it as all he would get out of her with Zabini in the vicinity. "Have you recovered from the time me and George stuck you in that cupboard with Mrs Norris yet Zabini?" He asked in interest, smirking in a very different way than Zabini had done earlier. "Nah, you know what? I couldn't care less."

With a gentle tug, he pulled Selene out of the library and into a little crevice a few feet from the door. "You alright love?" He restated, flicking his eyes in the direction of a still slightly confused Zabini.

"He's persistent." She summarised thankfully. "I'm starting to think I might need to hex him."

"No, no." Fred shook his head quickly. "I'm your Gryffindor Selene, I do all the heavy lifting, you do the homework, remember?"

Selene rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to turn Fred's hair blue again. "Yes, but I'm the one taking extra Charms Fred."

"You going to Hogsmede tomorrow?" Fred asked casually, peeking out to see if Zabini had disappeared. "Damn those Holy Hippogriffs, he's still there."

Nodding, Selene looked at Fred a little strangely. "Yes, of course I am. Lily is taking me to meet her sister, remember? My cousin."

She felt a little thrill at the words 'my cousin'. In all her life she never dared that she would ever be able to say that she was finally going to meet the people she dreamed about meeting when she felt especially alone. Aunty Dromeda, Uncle Ted, Dora, Lily.

"Great!" Fred looked genuinely happy for her. "Not all your family are complete psycos, but Lily can be pretty berserk when she really tries. But seriously, that's great. Maybe I can introduce myself sometime too, although I doubt your aunt and uncle will approve of my madder schemes."

"If they're anything like me, they'll love you." Selene pointed out, smiling slightly.

The next morning Lily was waiting outside Ravenclaw Tower compulsively, jumping on her cousin as soon as she spotted a flash of brown hair and blue eyes. "Aloha my favourite cousin!" She greeted, linking arms with Selene and grinning dangerously. "You wouldn't happen to be a vampire, would you? I still need someone to bite me."

"No, sorry." Selene apologised, having been warned of this behaviour by Fred only last night.

Lily nodded, not really listening. "I'm really pleased that you're related to me, you can give me tips! How did Fred tell you that he liked you for the first time."

"He kissed me…?" Selene trailed off, wondering why Lily really needed to know.

"I can't really do that." Lily shrugged suddenly and began to skip off down the corridor, dragging Selene along with her. "Anyway! Off to see Dora then! Busy schedule, no time to lose!"

They nearly knocked over Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were holding big bags of something and looking around shiftily, as if they were doing something wrong by being there. Lily gave them a little wave, not noticing the bags, before tugging Selene off down the steps that led outside to the courtyard. Hermione gave Selene the double thumbs up, and mouthed "You'll be fine!".

Climbing into the carriages pulled by Thestrals, Lily peered at where the Thestrals were curiously. "There's something there." She said confidently, nodding decisively at Selene. "Can you see them? Apparently some people can."

"Yeah." Selene admitted, avoiding looking at the creatures. "C-"

"Do you like the Weird Sisters?" Lily interrupted. "My sister loves them, went to a concert last year too, and brought me back a t-shirt and everything. She wanted to go this year too but Auror training becomes extra-disciplined in the last year apparently. She only gets time off to visit me and Mum and Dad because Kingsley – her supervisor for this year – is a personal friend of Dad's or something, I'm not totally sure and to be perfectly honest I couldn't care less. Dora's quite good friends with Charlie Weasley, the second-oldest Weasley, I've met him quite a few times too. Works with Dragons in Romania, Dora's trying to persuade him to come back over more often. He was here at the first task too, did you know?"

"Uh." Selene stared at Lily while she rattled all of this information off rapidly. "Okay."

Lily looked at her with an almost pitying expression. "Oh, I'm sorry; I forgot you didn't know anything about Charlie. I do have a tendency to do things like that. Mum will be ever so pleased that we have a family member in Ravenclaw, she was a Slytherin, Dora was a Hufflepuff and Dad and I are Gryffindors so yeah we've got all the houses now. Oh, we're almost there! We're meeting Dora by The Three Broomsticks."

With Lily's comforting consistent non-stop chatter and the spring air that surrounded the world nowadays, Selene could just about forget about the Howler and the stares. No one really noticed them as they ploughed through the crowd of students walking the last stretch to Hogsmede, they were just a couple of friends needlessly gossiping about what little detail the world held for them nowadays, nothing more.

"Oh, there she is!" Lily stuck her hand up in the air and waved towards a figure standing next to The Three Broomsticks, who waved back when she saw the hand.

"Hello little sis!" The woman who was obviously Dora greeted, enveloping Lily in a hug. "Ah, you'll always be little to me little Lily." She said to Lily's furious protests. "My ickle little baby sister…"

"_Dora._" Lily wrenched herself away, but not without a small smile. "This is our cousin; you know the one I wrote to you about centuries ago?"

Dora turned to Selene, a broad smile stretching right to the corners of her face. "Ohmygosh!" She said rapidly, hardly taking a breath or missing a beat. "Mum told me we had a couple of cousins, I never actually thought I'd get to meet either of you!"

She was scooped into a hug too, but released rather quickly compared to the way Lily had to struggle. "Nymphadora Tonks, although you probably already knew that. Call me Dora though, Dora's the name for family and everyone else just calls me Tonks."

"It's really nice to meet you too; I've always wanted to meet you guys. I'm Selene Malfoy, but you probably knew that too." Selene introduced, as the woman's hair turned a brown colour. "Are you a Metamorphagus?"

'Dora' nodded lightly, turning her hair back to its previous bubble-gum pink. "Wait a second, just let me change."

Watching as Dora changed her hair back to the brown colour, Lily gasped and pushed Selene backwards to she was directly beside her sister. "No!" She gaped, looking from one to the other. "Are you _au natural _Dora?"

Slightly confused, Dora nodded. "Brown hair, green eyes, normal face shape, why?"

"You guys look really similar!" Lily glanced at Selene again. "Of course Selene's younger and has blue eyes, but apart from that you could be twins, just about!"

After Lily said the word 'twins', Dora's eyes lit up with a sly twinkle and she turned to Selene with a grin on her face. "Talking of twins…" She began lightly, threading her arm through her cousin's neatly. "What's this I hear about you and a certain Weasley twin, eh?"

She attempted to place her hand on her hip and strike a pondering pose but she tripped over the doormat and whacked her head on the swinging sign. Lily cracked up laughing, helping her sister to her feet carefully.

"Oh Dora…" She giggled, swallowing her laughter. "We know where Selene gets her clumsiness from then too."

"But seriously, you and Fred Weasley? According to Charlie he's a right troublemaker, along with George of course." Dora cocked her head to one side and looked at Selene strangely. "Unless it's…"

"TRUE LOVE!" She and Lily chorused sweetly and in tandem, exchanging loaded glances when Selene blushed bright red.

"Aaaah…" Lily grinned, expertly steering her older sister around anything that might pose as a potential issue with Dora's clumsiness. "I think you can be smart sometimes Nymphadora, at least you just got something right."

"_Don't call me Nymphadora!_" Dora groaned, budging her sister. "And I'll have you know that Kingsley sings my praises every single working day Liliana, and I'm only treading the fine line in Stealth and Tracking."

Lily ignored the use of her full name and turned to Selene. "Dora's working to be an Auror at the Ministry, although I think I've already mentioned that." She explained, trying to remember if she'd pointed out that her sister was going to be an Auror before now.

"Do you want to be an Auror too Selene?" Enquired Dora interestedly.

Selene shook her head vigorously, starting to feel at home with Dora and Lily now. "No, I failed Herbology by a long shot so even if I wanted to I couldn't. I had a panic attack in the exam when the Snargluff pods slipped out of someone's hand and whacked me in the face, then I tripped over a flowerpot and somehow exploded a Mandrake with a Venomous Tentacular seed."

"Wow, and I thought I was clumsy." She answered, opening the door to the Three Broomsticks, this time missing the swinging sign. "Come on then, I need to know everything about my new baby cousin, and that includes boyfriends too. No details omitted, alright?"

Fred's P.O.V.

"We're off to go to Zonko's! The wonderful Zonko's of Oz!" Lee sang gaily, swinging his bag as he skipped off down the road ahead of the twins. "And I don't even know why I'm singing this!"

"Right…" George looked at Lee with a pitiful expression. "I fear for you Lee Jordan, I fear for you and your non-existent sanity."

"We're all loonies here!" Lee replied with a grin at Fred. "I know! I'm the loony loony, George, you're the crazy loony and Freddie here is the lovesick loony. Let's all go and get some loony pranking products from the loony joke shop loonily-"

He was quelled by having a hand slapped over his mouth by Fred. "Now you're overdoing it Lee." He warned, extracting his hand. "Also, I am not lovesick."

"It's not like Lee actually knows the correct definition." George pointed out. "But oh well, we'd better hurry up or Zonko's will be heaving. It'll be like trying to pick out a pea from Mum's cottage pie."

A glazed expression passed over Fred's face and he almost walked into a lamppost. "Cottage pie…" He droned, holding his arms out like a zombie. "Must…have…cottage…pie…"

"Careful mate." Lee joked, stopping his loony impressions. "Don't want to start imitating Ron now. It's scary enough when you dress up as the Bloody Baron and try to get Peeves to prank Filch and Snape in one fell swoop."

"You have never had our mother's cottage pie." Corrected George, a similar expression on his face.

Lee, who had never tasted Mrs Weasley's cooking, just looked at them strangely and commenced to skip off down the street again singing his rendition of Follow the Yellow Brick Road, skipping right into Alicia and Katie, who had just walked out of Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"Watch where you're going Lee." Alicia shot the offender a glare as she dropped her bag. "We're off to the Three Broomsticks though, do you want to join us?"

They all shook their heads. "Nah ladies, quality pranking items to purchase!" Lee drawled. "After all, being prank masters like us truly does take the hell out of you."

George whispered something in an undertone to Katie, who giggled and nodded excitedly. "Come on Allie, or there won't be any tables left."

Glancing at his twin, Fred's gaze was momentarily taken by Harry, Ron and Hermione, who looked to be sneaking out to the mountains past Hogsmede, where virtually no one went. He shrugged inwardly, someone had to break the rules and if it wasn't going to be him and his twin then it was better off being the trio. Then he snapped his conscience back to George, and concentrated on looking puzzled. "What did you say to them?" He enquired pleasantly.

"Nothing." George answered, with a mad grin. "Although I may have mentioned something about our favourite Ravenclaw being in the Three Broomsticks, along with her cousins."

"Really?" Lee cut in. "What interest does Katie have in Roger Davies? There may not be a Quidditch Tournament on but that still counts as fraternising with the enemy."

There was a slightly awkward silence. "Please say you are joking." George blinked. "Where have you been living for the last three or so months Lee? In the Black Lake? Fred. Has. A. Girlfriend. Shocker, I know."

Lee cracked up as Fred glared at George, who simply continued in his step by step breaking down of recent events. "Her. Name. Is. Selene Malfoy. And she. Is. A Ravenclaw. Fred is obsessed with her. How can you not know her?"

Now Lee was a matter of seconds away from collapsing with helpless laughter. "I was joking!" He choked out, before succumbing again.

"Shut up." Fred advised, waiting impatiently for Lee to stop laughing. "And hurry up. It does actually transpire that I may want to try out those Extendable Ears before summer; and this just so happens to be the right time for me."

Selene's P.O.V.

"…And Mum came running out of the house, spatula in one hand and mixing bowl in the other, and proceeded to chase Dad three times round the garden." Tonks concluded happily, taking a swig of her Butterbeer as Selene giggled quietly and Lily burst into manic chuckles. "Never before had I heard good old fashioned Muggle curse words, and I still make good use of them today."

From what Selene had gathered, her aunt and uncle were both fairly normal people, Uncle Ted was a weather presenter on something called a TV and Aunty Dromeda stayed at home to look after the cleanliness that didn't get wrecked by Dora's incessant clumsiness. It must have been a blessing to her now Dora had her own flat in Muggle London.

Lily snorted into her Butterbeer, making it spout up out of her nose. "Ick." She flinched, wiping her face with a tissue. "Dad can make it go about five feet, but don't tell Mum. She's a stickler for table manners, probably something to do with who uptight her parents were."

"Dad is a bit crazy." Dora insisted. "Tries to cut our lawn using a Muggle lawnmower and fails every time. He once accidently made it run into the kitchen while Mum was trying to talk to someone on the Floo."

Selene raised an eyebrow at the mental image and supressed a grin. "Uncle Ted sounds like good fun, what even is this T-V thing that you two keep talking about?"

The look exchanged between the two sisters was incredulous, until Lily face-palmed and reminded Dora that Selene had grown up in a purely Wizarding environment. "Um… it's a Muggle entertainment system." Dora explained slowly. "You know Wizarding photographs? It's like that, but they're shown in a big plastic box and they show different ones."

"Really?" Selene's interest peaked, she leant forward slightly on her elbows. "Is that the same thing as the tellybision? Cho talks about tellybisions quite a lot."

As Dora went on to explain the inner workings of 'tellybisions', her attention was caught by a clear view of three boys nonchalantly walking past the window directly opposite their table, two with red hair and one with dreadlocks. Of course, she almost instantly recognised the red heads as Charlie's younger twin brothers Fred and George, but the dreadlocked one didn't spark any instant reaction. Still, she had a little glimmer of mischief sparking in her brain.

"So, Selene…" She abruptly changed the subject. "No details omitted, tell me about you and Fred." She smirked at Lily, who smirked back evilly.

The change in atmosphere was definitely recognisable, and Selene flushed a magnificent scarlet colour. "I'm dating him?" She started, looking around carefully and shyly. Selene evidently didn't want anyone to hear this spiel. "And, uh, he's…"

"Come on Sellie." Dora used the new nickname for her bay cousin that she had literally dreamt up 30 seconds ago. "Charlie's fit; even I know that, so his brothers can't be _too _bad. Unless you're actually dating both Fred _and _George."

Selene started, looking both green and scandalised. "No way!" She almost yelled, choking slightly on her words. "George is…" She shuddered. "He seems too much like a brother to me, dating him would be weird. And never in a million years could I date both of them, one is bad enough."

The three boys were inside the Three Broomsticks now, and Dora managed to catch one of the twin's eyes. She remembered them from her last year, of course, and evidently that twin remembered her too as he nudged his friends with a little grin. She winked at them cheekily, before turning back to the issue at hand.

"Looks or personality?" By the look on Selene's face, she was starting to feel slightly awkward. "Did you go for his looks or his personality?"

Shifting slightly in her seat, Selene begrudgingly answered. "Both, I guess really."

"He must be special then!" Dora made sure to catch the eyes of the three boys as she said this. "Seriously though, he must be."

It was quite funny, all things considered, that Selene had no idea that the twins and Lee were literally five metres away from where she was sitting. Dora was perfectly aware of this fact, and was taking massive advantage of the fact that Lily and Selene were oblivious.

"Hi!" One of the red haired boys greeted Dora, and Lily and Selene looked around in surprise.

"George, what-"Selene began, flushing bright pink at the sight of one half of the Weasley pranking duo. "-What are you doing here?"

"Spying on you, of course!" George answered cheerily, waving at her. "Hi! And actually it was Fred's idea."

The look Selene gave George would have made a lesser man curl up and die on the spot, but George was immune to withering looks. "Seriously, Fred decided he wanted to spy on you, not me. I said nothing. I say nothing; come on Freddie dear, come on out before your lovely girlfriend clubs me to death with her dictionary."

Dora burst into laughter with that interesting mental picture, ignoring Selene's embarrassed glaring. Fred reluctantly stepped out from the shadows. "Sorry love." He apologised, running a hand through his hair.

"Ooh, its love is it?" Dora quipped, smirking at her cousin. "Ah, you two are so cute Sellie."

Fred paled significantly. "Okay." He resigned. "Ah, are you Lily's sister?"

"Nymphadora Tonks, but if you call me Nymphadora I'll feed you to my plants." Dora introduced. "Just call me Tonks. You two red heads are Fred and George, right? Which means you are Lee Jordan." She nodded at the boy with dreadlocks.

"Yup." Lee backed away though, towards the door. "I deeply regret this, but time waits for no one. I have lots of other important duties to attend to."

And with this parting phrase, he ran out of the Three Broomsticks, not even pausing to flirt with Madam Rosmerta. He didn't want to stay in such an awkward environment for any longer than necessary.

Lily checked her watch for something to do, uttering a small, forced, exclamation when she saw the time. "Oh Godric, we'll be late if we don't leave soon!"

"Already? But I was really enjoying embarrassing my little cousin!" Dora grinned at Selene cheekily. "But it was lovely to meet you Selene, and rest assured this is not over. This is only round one, and Mum will be incorrigible when she meets you. Prepare yourself for the worst _love_."

They waved to Dora until she disappeared, before Lily turned to Selene. "No, this is your problem. Bye!"

"Why am I being left on my own to deal with things today?" Selene asked aloud, to no one in particular.

"Look, Selene, I'm sorry, but I was bored." Fred protested quickly.

"We were bored." George corrected suddenly. "And there is no reason why we did spy on you."

"No explanation." Fred replied solemnly. "Sorry S-."

They continued to rattle off apologies of various ludicrousness for a few more moments, not allowing Selene any time to jump in and say anything at all. The main street of Hogsmede was empty except for a few residents scurrying up and down.

"George!" Selene shouted over their apologies, and they quietened immediately. "Calm down, I accept your apologies, but you are going overkill now. It's okay, I don't really mind."

The twins shared a look before pulling the poor girl into a bone-crushing hug. "We have finally found our perfect partner Gred!" George exclaimed emotionally. "Someone who won't yell at us for doing stupid things!"

"I have great taste!" Fred exclaimed dramatically. "And I'm looking directly at someone who said that I would never find someone who actually liked me!"

"Can you please let go of me?" Selene gasped for air, finally being able to breath. "Thanks. Why were you apologising so much anyway? I really don't understand either of you sometimes."

The twins shared a look, before turning to Selene and shrugging in tandem. "We don't know." They responded truthfully, grinning identical grins.

"This is the point where I quietly walk away." Selene took one step backwards, before being grabbed, one on each arm, by Fred and George, who then proceeded to tow her towards the castle. "Or… not."

George shook his head as he and his twin both propelled her. "You don't escape from the Weasley twins that easily love." He explained, ducking a swipe that Fred sent his way. "What was that for?"

"You can't call her love, only I'm allowed to call her that!" Fred pouted. "Call her something else, like cheesecake or… darling."

"I can't call her cheesecake!" George looked offended at the very idea. "What will our parents think?"

Their argument waged backwards and forwards for several more minutes, Selene growing more exasperated and more confused at each abrupt turn of subject. They rapidly jumped from nicknames, to siblings, to pranks played on siblings, to their cult (which Selene was still in the dark about) and then strangely to flavours of ice-cream.

Selene sighed. This was going to be a very long and very bizarre afternoon.

**And…**

**Ta-da! Oh god, I'm nearing the end of the book. Just next chapter (SPOILER ALERT! Cho, Fleur and everyone else realises that previously thought it was GeorgexSelene not FredxSelene.) And then it's the Third Task!**

**So, the question of the month… should I write each book in separate stories or do one huge long story… and maybe change the rating in about book 6? Just due to some really depressing stuff and character death. Really sad stuff as well. What do you think! UNEXPECTED POLL TIME!**

**Anyway… read and review! Let me know!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	27. Chapter 26: My Almost-Brother

**Hi,**

**Thank you to all my reviewers : Kacey, BellatrixD, The souless ones and MarieneAstriella.**

**This chapter was going to be 100% fluff, until I came up with an idea… I shall say no more!**

**Read and review!**

* * *

"You're too old to care, you're too young to count." Go by Indigo Girls

* * *

Chapter 26: My Almost-Brother

"…You gotta be a better person than you wanna be." Cho sung a snatch of song under her breath as she danced around the dormitory happily, holding up various articles of clothing to herself and discarding them as quickly as they had appeared. "You need to see what's inside yourself you know it helps you breath."

From the look of the room, a nuclear war could have gone on in the small space from the way everything was covered in either clothes or shoes. Stappy tops hung from the window sill, lazily flapping in the breeze. There was shoe precariously balanced on the bed post that was about to teeter and topple at any second, somehow a pair of shorts had wandered over to the door and a dress was quietly being trampled by Cho's joyous dancing.

Over on the farthest bed from a door, a suspiciously humanoid shape was groaning, buried beneath recognition by massive amounts of clothes. It stirred feebly, before reluctantly resigning itself to its fate and beginning to hum quietly to itself.

"And if you find yourself alone and unwanted baby, you've gotta listen to my words so you know who you're gonna be." Cho sang louder, above the shape's humming. "So look up! Listen up! Baby, you know who you are you know you've got the stuff!"

The figure groaned again and quietened, evidently muttering something that was lost through the layers. Cho completely ignored it, pulling on a loose shirt and giving herself the once-over in the mirror.

"I need my short purple skirt." She told her reflection, walking over to the pile of clothes. "Oh font of all knowledge, pray tell me, where art my purple skirt?"

A few clothes shifted sideways and the pile regurgitated a skirt sullenly, it's previously muted complaining now audible.

"Cho, I can't see a bloody thing." It whined, trying to pull the clothes off itself. "And you've made me miss dinner."

Cho simply patted the pile in an approximation of where she believed its head was, before dancing over to the mirror and slipping the skirt on over her cream-coloured see-through tights. Nodding appreciatively, she then walked back over to the clothes monster – who was still grumbling – and peeled a few layers off to reveal Selene. "Happy now?" She asked, before glancing down at her feet. "I need you to tell me which shoes to put on."

As Selene opened her mouth to protest, Cho quite literally put a sock in it. "No complaining; and I will let you go before nine."

Spitting the sock out of her mouth with a death glare, Selene attempted to point at a pair of shoes that were sitting in the sink of their bathroom. "Them." She guessed randomly. "I still can't believe that Cedric's idea of a date is taking you on his prefect rounds."

"He has style." Cho said, without any trace of sarcasm. "Won't get us into trouble, very romantic as well, it'll be midnight by the time he finishes, and then…"

She trailed off at this point, succumbing to a daydream about her and her boyfriend. Selene rolled her eyes and lay back on the bed, feeling quite relaxed until she realised that a pair of trousers had strewn themselves over her face as she had lain back. She sat up again, shaking them back down into the accepted area of amnesty.

Suddenly the whirlwind that also went by the name of Fleur Delacour strode into the room. Cho took this as expected, she gritted her teeth and went into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her.

Before Selene could get a word or a question in edgeways, like how on Earth could she get into Ravenclaw tower, Fleur dragged Selene to a standing position and glared at her friend as the discarded clothes fell onto the floor into a little puddle of colours. Then she began to yell.

"WHY DEEDN'T YOU TELL MEE!" She screeched, and Selene had to fight to cover her ears. Veela part coming, 3… 2… 1… Now! "WHY? I THOUGHT YOU TRUSTEED MEE! I KNOW DESE THEENGS, SO WHY?"

"Why what?" Selene was completely and utterly stumped for once. "What have I done?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL MEE ZAT 'OU 'ER GOING ZOUT WEETH ZAT FRED WEEZLY?" Fleur yelled, before taking a few deep breaths and gathering her friend into a hug. "MY LEETLE SELENE ZIS GROWING UP!"

Fleur let go rather quickly, and then commenced to cup Selene's face in her two hands. "You look deeferent." She pronounced, smiling in a satisfied fashion. "Zo then." She pulled them both down onto the bed and took Selene's hands in hers. "Iz 'e good?"

Making a strangled sound halfway between a choke and a laugh, Selene shook her head quickly. "No!" She cried, looking beseechingly at her French friend who had no shame whatsoever. "We've only been dating for about three months Fleur, we're taking it slowly."

"Zat eez no fun!" Fleur announced. "I tell zou, az 'oon az I meet za correct boy, I am not goeeng to waste anzymore time zan I must."

From the stifled gasps and giggles behind the bathroom door, Cho was enjoying this conversation a hell of a lot more than Selene was. Unfortunately Selene's glares couldn't punctuate solid objects. Yet.

"Zo, deed 'e kiss you?" Fleur waggled her eyebrows at Selene, making her blush a deep crimson colour. "Oh, 'e deed? What was eet like? Deed 'e make you melt?"

If she was having this conversation with any other person, Selene would have died of embarrassment by now. However, Fleur was her best friend, her _meiulliure ami_, and they basically told each other everything.

"Yes." Selene whispered, then actually covered her ears as Fleur began to squeal with happiness. She was the only person in the whole school to have a best friend who fangirled over their love life. "Fleur, keep it down! How do you know we're dating anyway?"

Fleur waggled a finger in front of Selene's nose. "You 'ave been veery sneeky, 'aven't you? Well, I 'eard from Leanne 'o 'eard eet from za 'Ogwarts champion Cedreec, 'o 'eard eet from 'Arry, 'o saw eet all 'appen, zat you were dating zees Greefindor boy called Fred Weezly! So I zay to myself, 'o ees zis Fred Weezly, zen I realise 'o 'e is and I go and ask 'im if ee iz dating you! And 'e zays 'Yes, I am dating zer' and I come to find you!" She rattled off. "Zat Fred Weezly is… lush! 'E eez veery 'andsome, I told you 'zat 'ee liked you!"

"No, you thought his twin George liked me. And he does, just as a friend." Selene pointed out, just as Cho decided to emerge from the bathroom.

"Is it TRUE LOVE?" Cho asked, with the suspiciously same air as Dora had had. "Ohmigosh, it is! It must be written in the stars! I'll check in my next Astronomy lesson."

For once, Fleur didn't seem annoyed by Cho's presence. "You two are so CUTE TOGETHER!" She said gleefully, even though Fleur had never seen Fred and Selene together except for that one time in September. "Eet iz like a romance novel! Two lovers, kept apart by zere family deefernces. Zis iz perfect!"

Cho nodded, agreeing with Fleur. Was the world ending? Selene looked around the clothes-strewn room to confirm that all was well. "Witch Weekly quizzes never lie!" Cho ran over to her bed, pulling out the huge box of Witch Weekly magazines. "Which one was it… June 1993, there we go!"

"Cho, it's a magazine, it's not the second cousin three times removed of Professor Trelawney." Selene pointed out, trying to read the front cover before Cho opened it. "How to train your Puffskein?"

Making a dismissive gesture with one hand, Cho flipped open the magazine and began to scan the index, before uttering a silent exclamation and turning to the correct page. "See! Which Quidditch position should you date!"

She brandished the magazine in front of Selene, and Fleur immediately grabbed it. "Zis is intereestieeng." Fleur read the page with zeal. "Go on Selene! She needs to do zis, correct?" She asked in an undertone to Cho, who nodded again.

More to relieve her friends than any personal interest, Selene ran through the questions as haphazardly and as quickly as she had done before, not even pausing to make comments on the questions like she would normally do.

As soon as she had checked the last box, Cho seized the magazine from her and swept her eyes straight to the boxes where the outcome would appear. "I knew it!" She exclaimed, shoving the magazine back in Selene's face. "See that word? See that word? It says…"

"Beater." Selene nodded, resisting the urge to face-palm. "It said that before, but you immediately decided that it was George, over Fred."

"Who cares?" Cho grabbed the magazine again and deposited it back in the box. "You always take these with a pinch of salt, don't you Sel? Well, now you have incentive to take them as the complete truth, and nothing but the truth."

"Ah, so ee iz a Queeditch player zen?" Fleur giggled unashamedly. "A good one?"

Selene blushed and decided not to comment, knowing that Fred's ego was big enough even though he wasn't in earshot. (If he was, then she would be worried)

"But why deedn't you tell us?" Fleur asked incredulously, blinking her big blue eys at Selene.

"Oh, Rowena, I was confused at the time and then it just got weird and then George apperated on top of me." Selene dismissed easily. "That was weird, because he deliberately didn't get up and then Fred got annoyed. In a nutshell, my love life is monopolised by one person and his twin brother."

In retrospect, telling them both this was a massive mistake as they both jumped on Selene for more details, coming up to twenty-seven completely different wrong conclusions in the space of five minutes. It was an amazing feat really, but terrifying nonetheless.

"No, I do not fancy George, George is not Fred in disguise and why on Earth would they be aliens from outer space?" Selene insisted, clutching her forehead. "It's Fred, okay? George is just a really good friend its Fred, just Fred, only Fred and it will always only be Fred, okay? I. Love. Fred. Not George, Fred. The one who almost killed McGonagall with Dungbombs and set fire to Mrs Norris. He's infuriating, yes, and he's stupid as well, but for some reason I am in love with him. George is like… I don't know an incredibly annoying version of my brother, which is quite a feat all things considered."

The other two girls immediately fell silent, and Selene half expected someone to jump in with a camera and snap a few pictures of their dumbfounded expressions. But the room remained a nuclear war site. No one moved. Then Cho blinked twice and started to fangirl.

"That's so sweet!" Cho giggled, pulling Selene to her feet and chucking yet more clothes at her. "I always told you that you'd feel that way someday, it just came earlier than I expected! I thought you'd be at least 20 before you did though."

Selene rolled her eyes as a shirt hit her in the face. "Thank you for your complete faith in me Cho." She said sarcastically, pulling the clothes back off her again. "Why am I having more clothes chucked in my face?"

"Because you need to tidy up!" Cho pointed out, chucking something in vague approximation of where her friend was. "I have a date, Fleur-"

"I have somewhere to be." Fleur giggled slightly before gliding gracefully out of the room, winking at Selene as she left. "_Au revoir!_"

Cho left soon after, but not before piling every single amount of clothing that she owned onto Selene. "Sorry Sel, I really need to go. Don't wait up for me, I'll be late!"

"Well this is fun." Selene-the-clothes-monster said to herself after she had heard the door close. "I'm covered in clothes, I can't see a bloody thing and I am now apparently the cleaning service."

She half-heartedly pushed the clothes off her face so she could see the room and struggled out of the pile, tripping over a shoe Cho had left conveniently in the middle of the floor and face-planting the bed right in front of her.

Glowering around at the mess, Selene grabbed her wand from her bed and mumbled a cleaning spell. The clothes neatly folded themselves and put themselves away, leaving an almost pristine environment behind. Hermione would be pleased with her; after all, the House Elves had one less job to do now.

The common room was quiet, save for a pack of first years in the corner that were playing with a Fanged Frisbee.

"Fanged Frisbees are banned, hand it over." Selene pressed, walking over to the first years and holding out her hand reluctantly. She would have loved one of those when she was their age, but violent Frisbees lose their attraction after a few years. And, like it or not, they were banned.

"Aren't you the sixth year who's dating that Gryffindor?" One of them piped up after Selene had gained control of the toy.

Groaning inwardly, for once Selene chose not to retort and simply left the common room, casting _Arresto Momentum _on the Frisbee that was still attempting to escape. It snapped at her tie angrily for a few seconds, before baring its teeth and retracting begrudgingly.

The moon had never unsettled her before. Not much, anyway. Just that once, and that was years ago.

Finding a small bend in the hallway, Selene slumped down the wall and produced a folded up letter from her pocket.

Written in clear, cursive script, tiny spaces between words and miniscule handwriting, even someone unused to writing could tell that the sender was a woman of impeccable society status.

_My dearest daughter, _

Selene snorted, that was harsh. Sending her a Howler then proclaiming her as their 'dearest daughter'.

_I am hoping that this letter finds you in good health, and good company. I have discussed this with your father, and we have both come to the conclusion that this is the only viable way to change your mind._

She almost dropped the letter in her clammy hands. Something big had happened, she knew it before but Selene always thought that they would wait until the summer to tell her and Draco. What had changed their mind; they said before that they wanted to tell them face to face.

_As we have previously told you, something major is happening at the moment in our life. It will affect all of us in some way or another, and your father hopes that it will also affect the Wizarding World as a whole._

_You may remember, Draco certainly won't, the years in which The Dark Lord was in power. You were three when he fell at the hands of Harry Potter, who I understand you are now in a steady friendship with. Draco assures me that he hardly speaks to Potter, along with his friends._

_However I have heard about your friendships with the Weasley family, Mudbloods and people we would normally ignore. You have always been a special case in our family Selene, as Bella delighted in pointing out to me all that time ago. Also, Draco has informed me of your boyfriend. _

_If it was anyone else then I would congratulate you, but I am afraid I cannot. From what I heard, not only is Fred Weasley a blood-traitor, he is a terrible influence on you. _

_But this is not the point of this letter._

_Your father's Dark Mark has been growing stronger over the past year, and we anticipate that it will not be much longer until The Dark Lord again rises. Not long at all, so we must hurry to prepare._

_You are of the correct age, my dearest daughter, to serve The Dark Lord. As y-_

The sheet dropped from Selene's hands and caught the wind, descending gracefully to the ground. She was trembling, not from the cold but from fear, and anxiety.

"No, no, this…" She got to her feet, clasping both her hands over her mouth and looking at the letter in revulsion. "…This isn't real. This can't be happening."

But as she said those words, the truth overcame her. This COULD be happening. It had almost happened before, in her third year. Not everyone knew, but a girl curious enough to eavesdrop on her parents would know without a doubt. It had been only a matter of time then, but now that time was drawing ever nearer, too near, and she was to serve The Dark Lord.

All her life, she had been played second-best. Not Slytherin, but Ravenclaw. Not cunning, but clever. Associating with Muggle-borns. Her only redeeming features were her ability to create perfect, pureblood babies and her intelligence, which was needed to make the Malfoy's top of the class in more than one respect.

Her only purpose was always to serve Lord Voldemort. As a child, she had been taught to refer to him as The Dark Lord, but as time grew on Voldemort stuck. She wasn't scared of the name, wasn't really even scared of Voldemort himself. He wasn't alive. But when he was, surely she'd be more scared now than in her entire life…

The dying man's parting words flashed in front of her and Selene fought down vomit. That man; that man had chosen to believe in _her_. Her! A tiny, terrified, toddler with a murderous father and an indifferent mother. Scared of her own shadow. And someone beyond all hope had looked to her to help him in any way she could. It was useless, she hadn't.

If he was standing here right now, then Selene didn't know what he would have said, or thought, or did. She didn't know him, she could just match a picture to a name, a man to an identity. Just the name, and his last moments.

All she could tell, and she didn't know how, was that he would want her to keep fighting against the tide. To not give in. To find a rock.

"Please." Selene found herself saying to the empty corridor. "Please, just please. I know you can hear me. I know that for some reason you saw me as more than the child of a murderer. More than the last person you would ever see. I'm the most ordinary girl, with friends, problems, family issues, even a boyfriend. I have things that I never dreamt I'd have. And I know I'm an idiot, standing out here talking to a bloody wall, but I don't know what else I can do."

There was silence in the corridor, and Selene's last words reverberated around the hall a few times.

"Somehow," Selene felt compelled to continue, more out of compulsion than hope. "Somehow when I see the twins, Fred especially, they almost remind me of your face. I could see you acting like them too. But why do I remember you when I see them?"

The corridor didn't reply; not that Selene had expected it to.

"This is hopeless." Selene gave up, slumping down the wall again. "Who am I kidding? I didn't even know the man, he was just someone. No one special. It's in the past.

_Your father's Dark Mark has been growing stronger._

"And that can't be happening, it's impossible…"

It's impossible…

"_You are impossible!" I exclaim, throwing my arms up in the air. "It really doesn't matter Draco, maybe the Granger girl is just better than you."_

_The look in Draco's eyes would make anyone want to curl up and die. "She is better than me Selene, and that's the problem!" He yells, glaring at me. "She's a Mudblood, and she's better than me!"_

"_Please don't use that word." I ask softly, looking him dead in the eyes. "I don't like it."_

"_Well then, maybe you're the one who's impossible then! Sometimes I wish you'd just… you'd just go!" _

Impossible was such a short word if you thought about it. And yet… impossible had always been the word to describe her. Impossibly annoying, impossibly smart, impossibly stubborn, impossibly different.

"Well hello there."

"George, stop doing that." Selene sighed, glancing up at him. "Creeping up on me, I mean."

"Now what would be the fun in that?" George asked, sitting down on the floor so he was next to her. "Are you okay?"

Selene nodded quickly, maybe a little too quickly. "Completely fine." She stowed the letter back in her pocket, trying to keep it out of George's sight. "What about you? Never really seen you without Fred."

"I have absolutely no idea where Fred is right now." George shrugged. "Nah, he'll be somewhere unreachable. Am I really that bad company?"

"N-No! I didn't mean that." Selene replied hastily, blushing. "I just wondered where he was, that's all."

Suddenly, George jumped up, tugging Selene up with him. "You can't sit here all night my favourite little Ravenclaw, there is much fun to be had! Pranks to play, people to annoy, sitting here looking glum won't help at all!"

"What do you want George?" Groaned Selene, self-consciously poking the letter completely out of sight.

"To help me prank someone, of course!" He answered matter-of-factly.

"No, wh-" Selene began, but George clapped his hand over her mouth and hushed her playfully, over-dramatically glancing around the corner and running across to the shadows on the other side of the staircase.

"McGonagall should be in her office by this time of night." George pointed out with a massive smile. "Marking essays, of course I will have scored a P and you an O, or maybe reading a light novel by the moonlight. Naturally, she wouldn't expect a prank at this time. We normally strike at midnight – because it sounds awesome and incredibly sexy at the same time."

He finally moved his hand away from Selene's mouth, wiping it on his jeans. "Yes, but why would I want to prank McGonagall?" She asked, crossing her arms. "I'm a model student, just about."

"Oh, come off it, how many detentions have you had? At least one, unless you have a twin too."

Unable to counter this comment, Selene chose to instead huff and glare out over the staircases. They were moving with short, sharp creaks every so often, a regular occurrence, and they were completely and utterly deserted. She and George were the only two brave enough to venture out, it transpired.

George chuckled at her body language and rolled his eyes, before darting forward and grabbing the letter out of her back pocket. "_My dearest daughter_." He began to read out in a high falsetto. "_I am hoping that this letter finds you in good health and good company._"

"George, give it back!" Selene darted for it, her voice high-pitched and squeaky. "Give it back, please!"

"_I have discussed this with your father…_" George continued, before his expression flipped and he stopped talking altogether. "…_a special case in our family, as Bella delighted in…_" He finally mouthed.

"Please George, please give it back." Selene made another desperate grab for it but George held it out of her reach, still mouthing the words that her mother had written. Every single one, from the Dark Mark confession, to the hollow words after, even the words that Selene couldn't read, the ones that made her heart sink and her fear grow. "Please, please George. _Please_."

Jaw dropping open, George wordlessly passed Selene back her letter, realising the weight of what he had just read and the implications. Neither of them made any move to comfort the other, empty apologies wouldn't mean enough now George had discovered. Selene swallowed down her tears, folding the parchment up into a square and depositing it in her pocket like before.

"Is…" George's voice was croaky, like he was about to cry himself. "Is it true? All of it?"

Selene opened her mouth, but no words came out. Just one strangled sob. "Y-y-y-yes." She stuttered, wiping her eyes furiously. She was aware of how bad she sounded, and swallowed again to contain the tears that were surely about to fall. "N-n-n-now I s-sound l-like b-b-bloody P-Professor Quirrel!" She choked, trying and failing to laugh.

George cautiously put his arms around Selene, unsure of what her response would be. When she didn't protest, he allowed himself a little more leeway.

All she had been saying was that it was Fred, only Fred, and it was, but yet it wasn't. She had fallen for Fred hard and fast, and now she couldn't remember the time when it was her, and him, not them. But George had been there from the start, he had been there when Fred hated her, and he tried and succeeded to change Fred's mind. In affect, George was first for Selene.

Everyone needs family, even the most broken of characters, and George counted as family for Selene now. And there was something vaguely nice about having his arms around his twin brother's girlfriend, just as friends, both sharing something that was too big for one person to bear. If he had to be honest, George believed that it should have been Fred holding on like he would never let go, he'd be there with an inappropriate joke and his sarcasm, holding the fort together like he always did.

But he wasn't Fred, and George couldn't even bring himself to crack the easiest joke, even hazard a little pun. You might say that he was the kinder of the pair, but he wasn't. He could just tell when to leave well alone.

"I-I-" Selene began to stammer again, and George shook his head.

"You don't have to apologise, this isn't your fault. I shouldn't have read that damn letter." He berated himself, still with his arms around Selene. "You know, it is okay to let yourself cry sometimes."

He pulled away, brushing the tear tracks off her cheeks. "Your brother is getting another punch soon." George joked feebly, but even the sorely bad joke made Selene laugh quietly. "See? I got you laughing again. And I'm sure we'll find a way, I mean, we have a cult following."

"Do I still have to prank McGonagall?" Selene asked, picking over her words as she said them.

George began to chuckle, nodding his head and wondering to himself how one girl could be so allergic to pranking anyone. Except Hermione, of course. "Oh, my dear, dear Selene, I would never let you get away that easily, letter or no letter. Fred has told me specifically not to let you go before the deed is done."

The change in atmosphere was astounding; it was if the letter had completely self-combusted into ash. "Alright…" Selene sighed in that familiar way which undoubtedly meant that she didn't actually mind too much. "But we can't hurt her, alright?"

The next thing Selene knew was total and complete blackness.

**Wowzers, I liked writing that.**

**So, is it a powercut? Or has something else happened… you will have to wait to find out my dear readers!**

**Please let me know what you thought.**

**Eleanor xxx**


	28. Chapter 27: I Wish

**5 reviews! Thank you very much my dearest friends, and I am immensely sorry for the wait!**

**Thank you to BellatrixD, Kacey, , The souless ones and Perry The Canary!**

**Also to all my favourites and followers, I will not name you all as that would take up a separate word document! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I was bold, she was over the worst of it." - Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis

* * *

Chapter 27: I Wish…

"…could've been seriously hurt, what were you thinking?"

"…no-one knew that the suit or armour was loose, it wasn't his fault Mum."

"…the poor girl…"

"…haven't done too badly Fred."

"…look, I'm tired, okay?"

"…the letter…"

"…shut up if you know what's good for you…"

All of these different voices swam above Selene as she struggled to open her eyes; they all seemed to be talking about her, if her mind was to be believed. But if it was to be believed, then her sense of detachment was growing ever stronger.

"Out!" Someone shouted from somewhere. "She needs rest, concussion doesn't heal up easily. Yes, you can stay Mr Weasley, Mr Weasley, Molly, but the rest of you… Out!"

There was a reply of general grumblings and mutters, and clearly not everyone left as people began to argue. Selene tried again to open her eyes, but it was like someone had attached lead weights to her eyelids and sewed them shut for good measure. Then the noise settled down and the person who had shouted earlier started to work again.

"She's very pretty dear." A woman said, and there were a few movements to Selene's left. "So you were with her when it happened George?"

"Yes." George sounded really guilty when he said that – had it been his fault that she was here? "We were – we were discussing something and then the suit of armour fell over and…" He took a deep breath. "…I thought she was dead for a second."

Her eyes were still glued shut, but she stirred slightly and instantly the chattering ceased. She moved again, and then someone was holding her hand, squeezing it way too tight like they couldn't let her go.

"'Lene?" The someone asked quietly, and Selene's breath caught in her throat. "'Lene? Can you hear me?"

It wasn't Draco; Draco wouldn't be scared and shocked like the person sounded. He'd just be angry, angry at whoever dared attack a Malfoy. But Draco was the only person who knew about that nickname, her parents found it too vulgar and Cho had given her the most generic one possible.

Finally Selene managed to force open her eyes, blinking in the much too bright sunlight. When her vision finally came to, she could see the terrified face of Fred Weasley right in front of her.

When Fred noticed that Selene's eyes were open, he visibly relaxed and squeezed her hand. "Hey." Selene coughed, forcing her face into a smile and coughing again. "Freddie."

Fred let the hated name slide and grabbed her around her waist, hugging Selene tightly. "Thank Godric." He whispered, and Selene relaxed into him. "Thank Godric you're okay."

Whereas George had just felt nice, Fred made Selene feel safe, just like when he told her that he was her Gryffindor and all those stupid little times that he had kissed her cheek when he passed her in the corridor, and when he almost snogged her to annoy Zabini. It no longer felt awkward to do all of those 'couply things' that Fred was amazingly casual at, like sitting at each other's tables for meals (Fred had become a huge hit with the second years after he taught them how to make peanut butter taste like ketchup) and the petty fights they had over their Quidditch teams almost daily. So Selene just let him hug her, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

"Ahem." The woman coughed and Selene rocketed back instantly, making pain blur in her back. Tears filled her eyes, and she could feel her face going crimson like it always did. The tips of Fred's ears were very pink; he evidently was just embarrassed as she was. He mumbled something under his breath and the woman whacked him.

"Watch your language Frederick Weasley!" She warned, turning to Selene. "I am terribly sorry; it's a pleasure to meet you dear. Molly Weasley, Fred and George's mother."

Mrs Weasley was the polar opposite of Narcissa Malfoy in every miniscule detail, she was short, with red hair and she was plump as well, with a large smile and wearing an apron covered in flour. It looked like she wasn't afraid to dish out punishment in public too; judging from Fred's pained expression.

"It's nice to meet you too Mrs Weasley." Selene coughed again. "Everyone's told me a lot about you."

Mrs Weasley's face went pleasantly pink and she surprised Selene by gathering her up in a hug too, slightly less tight than Fred's though. "Everyone has written to me about you too, I had one from Ginny basically telling me to adopt you sometime in March. You're a Ravenclaw then? Ron tells me that you've had an amazing impact on my boys."

George grimaced and hid his head in his hands, shaking his head as he did. "Honestly woman, it's been the other way round. I nearly got her to prank someone before… before the suit of armour fell on her."

Saying it like that, it almost sounded funny. "How long have I been out?" Selene asked, glancing at the window for the first time.

"A little over three days dear, you had quite a nasty concussion." Mrs Weasley smiled kindly at Selene.

"The today, today's…" Selene counted up the days mentally in her head. "The Third Task? Were you here to see Harry?"

"And you dear." Mrs Weasley sat down in the seat next to Selene's bed and patted her leg thoughtfully. "After all, you are part of the family just as much as Harry now."

"Um… who else was here?" Selene asked George, as Fred was busy glaring at his mother.

"The other ones who were here are Bill, he's our eldest brother, Fleur and her family, Hermione, Harry, Ronald, Ginny, Cho, Alicia, Katie, Angelina, and then Professor Flitwick has popped in an awful lot. You're quite popular; Madam Pomfrey is at the end of her tether." George grinned, then grimaced as he looked at her. "I'm really sorry Selene."

Selene shook her head at him, rolling her eyes. "You apologise way too much George, its fine. You didn't know that that was going to happen. How was the suit of armour loose anyway? I thought they were enchanted to stay mounted?"

"Ah! You're awake!" Madam Pomfrey came bustling over, holding a big bottle of some type of orange liquid. "And how are you feeling?"

"I've been better." Selene smiled at the motherly matron; having known her from her regular excursions to the Hospital Wing after several Quidditch matches. "My leg hurts a bit, and I can't move my back properly, but apart from those things I feel fine."

Madam Pomfrey measured out some of the orange liquid into a goblet, passing it to Selene. "You've had a lot of visitors dear." She noticed the hopeful look on the twin's faces, and her look softened. "Oh, alright then. No more than eight, mind you! She's still very weak, and I don't want her over-exerting herself before she can heal."

In addition to the twins and Mrs Weasley, Harry, Ron, Hermione, a tall red head who Selene thought was probably Bill and Ginny raced in, Hermione uttering a soft exclamation at Selene and rushing forward ahead of everyone else.

"Are you alright?" She asked frantically, her bushy hair frizzing out around her head so she looked like a demented mop. "I wanted to come before but I wasn't allowed, and Professor McGonagall said a suit of armour fell on you!" When Selene did nothing to protest, Hermione's eyes widened. "That's odd; someone must have tampered with it then. But who'd do that?"

George and Selene's gazes met at that moment, a slight hollowness reflecting in George's eyes which told her that he remembered everything. They both knew who would do such a thing, many, many people who would do anything to get rid of her.

"…Do you suppose…?" Harry trailed off, and the trio began to converse in hushed tones, standing slightly apart from the group clustered around Selene. Madam Pomfrey took that opportunity to look at the goblet Selene was holding meaningfully.

"Oh, okay." Selene drank the contents of the goblet down, shuddering at the disgusting taste. Madam Pomfrey immediately took it from her, then warning the group that the Third Task was due to begin soon and they hadn't much time.

Next, the tall red head grinned, rubbing the back of his neck gingerly. "Bill Weasley, I've heard a lot about you. Mostly good. Little Freddie's done well for himself, by any means. Anyway, thanks to you I'm a good ten Galleons richer, me and Charlie had a bet that Charlie could pick up someone before Freddie here." He gave Selene a flirtatious smile, making her blush.

"Honestly dear." Mrs Weasley shook her head, sliding a bit of hair behind Bill's ear, revealing a large fang earring. "Are you sure you won't get a hair cut? Or at least get rid of that earring."

Bill chuckled heartily, patting his mother on the shoulder. "Not a chance Mum. Ginny likes my earring, don't you Gin?"

"It's really cool Mum!" Ginny protested. "And he's, like, ancient now. Cool is hard to achieve at his age."

"Oi." Bill complained, but he didn't really sound annoyed. "I'm not that old."

Family banter was something Selene had always wanted, but constantly missed out on. For one thing, everyone seemed to be at different places except at mealtimes, which were spent in silence. Draco was more fun when he was younger, taking the broomsticks out for a spin and having competitions to see who could get the other to fall off first. The Weasley's seemed to gel as a family, despite their conflicting personalities, most notably the twins and their mother.

Selene yawned loudly, stifling it with a hand over the back of her mouth. Mrs Weasley noticed her tiredness and quickly rushed the group out, except for Fred and George who refused to be moved.

"It's okay Mrs Weasley." Selene said sleepily, smiling up at Fred. "I'm nowhere near as interesting as the Third Task though. Go on, you'll miss it."

And as he eyes slowly drifted closed again, Selene was aware of someone whispering to her. "I love you, you crazy Ravenclaw."

_I'm standing in a huge, white room. Truly huge. I don't feel deathly tired like I did mere seconds again too, I feel calm. _

_ And I'm alone. For once, the solitude doesn't scream out at me like an angry harpy, it doesn't press down on me. It's the nice type of emptiness, the kind that makes you feel infinite and like your worries are unimportant. Hogwarts, and the Third Task looks to be as far away as the sun, maybe further. _

_ Of course, that also means Fred is nowhere near here, but I think I can deal with that. It'll give me time to figure out whether I should tell him or not._

_ "Well, you certainly scrub up well." Someone chuckles, and I spin in a circle to try and catch the commenter. There's no one there. "I thought you were meant to be clever! Use your goddamned eyes woman!"_

_ Still, I can't see anything but myself and the huge white space I am somehow enclosed in. "There's nothing here." I say aloud, thinking that the voice might be able to hear me._

_ I can basically hear the voice rolling its eyes at me. "Seriously, look properly. I am here, I'm not invisible."_

_ A figure appears on the horizon, and I squint to try and make out who it is. It's walking towards me. "I can see you now." I answer, inside wondering how this world fitted together. "Uh… if that is you."_

_ Chuckling, the figure walks close enough to me so I can see its face. I take a step backwards when I realise who it is. "Honestly woman, I thought you would have guessed it'd be me." The man laughs, uncannily like Fred with his slightly lopsided grin and chocolate-brown eyes. "You are quite accident-prone, aren't you? A bloody suit of armour fell on you. If that isn't clumsy, then I'm a Hippogriff."_

_ "But you're dead." I insist, stepping backwards again. "You can't be here, you're dead." I repeat. Then it hits me. "Oh."_

_ "Knew there were some good brains in there!" He grins, ruffling his already messy hair. "I can see what that young ruffian sees in you, clever, pretty and a sense of humour, a three out of three! Typical that I should meet a three after I'm dead." He frowns. "But anyway! You needed a bit of help and guidance, didn't you? Strange that of all people you'd look to me, but then again I am incredibly talented."_

_ His egoistical aura again reminds me of Fred, and I laugh nervously, looking around me in a futile attempt to put a stopper in the tension. _

_ "Don't expect you get that much support from your parents." The man says knowingly. "Don't worry, you're not the first one to be in this kind of situation. But honestly, that letter? Kind of bonkers."_

_ "It's not the letter!" I blurt. "I don't really want to tell Fred, he'll just make up some absurd plan to smuggle me out of Hogwarts and go after my family. George doesn't want to make a fuss, but still."_

_ He taps his chin like he's considering my problem. "That is quite a conundrum." He says finally, in a slow voice. "Can't say I've ever been in your shoes, but then again my feet are probably much bigger than yours. What I can say is this – dating a Weasley can lead to strange consequences."_

_ "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I ask him, losing my patience steadily. _

_ The man shrugs. "Absolutely no idea. Don't worry, no one ever understands me. My wisdom is like a piece of cake, here one second someone's eaten it the next. Talking of cake…" He gets a strange kind of glazed expression on his face. Then he snaps out of it. "I have no idea why you ask me for guidance, the first time I saw you I was in intense pain and was attempting to kill your father. Try Lily, she seems to like you."_

_ Then he looks at me in complete confusion. "You have absolutely no idea, don't you." He decides. "No idea."_

_ "No idea about what?" I begin to panic – what have I been missing? _

_ "…Minister!" The man finishes, in a woman's furious voice, before winking at me. _

"…Minister!" Selene's eyes snapped open. "My patients are sleeping!"

In the faint glow of the lights lighting up along the room, Selene could just make out the outlined figure of Harry in the bed next to her. He held up a single finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet.

"I am very sorry Poppy!" The Minister continued, not sounding very sorry at all. "But what the Potter boy says is preposterous, You-Know-Who cannot be back!"

Gripped by sudden panic, Selene clapped both her hands over her mouth and began to hyperventilate, closing her eyes to block out Harry's curious face. He was back. He was back. Everything Mother had said was true down to a 'T'.

"Minister, they are trying to sleep!" Mrs Weasley whisper-yelled, from the other end of the room. "Harry has been through an awful lot, and Selene was attacked by that Death Eater!"

Harry signalled to Selene frantically. "Don't ask, I'll tell you later." He mouthed. "More important things."

All of the lights came on at that precise moment, bathing the hospital wing in bright light. Mrs Weasley whipped around to see both Harry and Selene awake, and gave them both a slightly strained smile.

"It's good to see you two are awake, at least." She glared at the Minister, walking over to their beds. "There are a few people that want to see you two, I'm afraid."

Her tone was menacing, and the Minister basically quaked in his shoes. Mrs Weasley cast him one last venomous glare before walking over to the door.

Professor Dumbledore walked in first, tailed by Professor Snape, Mrs Weasley, Fred, George, Ron and Hermione. Fred gave Selene a wink when he saw her, exactly like he had done. Then a large, shaggy black dog burst in behind them and she stifled a shriek.

"T-t-that's…" She pointed at the dog, who cocked its head at her. "T-t-t-the dog…"

"That is correct, Miss Malfoy." Professor Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "I assure you Madam Pomfrey, this dog is perfectly house trained. Now, I think it is time." He turned to the dog, who nodded and bounded over to Harry, jumping up and placing its paws on his shoulders.

Harry, Ron and Hermione all seemed perfectly fine with the dog being there, but no one else had that same confidence. George looked vaguely amused at the dog's actions, Mrs Weasley didn't look convinced at Dumbledore's assurances, and Fred looked about as shaken as Selene felt, staring at the dog like he recognised it too. Professor Dumbledore drew a screen around the two beds, checking that Madam Pomfrey was completely busy.

Right in front of their eyes, the dog twisted and morphed into the shape of a man, a man that was familiar from the old wanted posters. His long, black shaggy hair hung over his gaunt looking face and his wizard robes were tattered and torn. Mrs Weasley screamed, pointing a single finger at the man.

"Sirius Black!" She whispered, looking terrified. Fred and George drew their wands, and Professor Snape looked merely bored and slightly annoyed.

"Molly, why don't you come to my office and I'll fix you a cup of tea. And I assure you, Harry and Selene are perfectly safe."

Professor Dumbledore walked off with Mrs Weasley, and Sirius immediately turned to Harry, whispering furiously under his breath.

"Selene." Hermione began. "This is Sirius Black. Harry's godfather; and an innocent man."

"He's not innocent though Hermione!" Fred exclaimed, aiming his wand at Sirius. "He's a Death Eater!"

Harry shook his head. "Sirius was framed by Peter Pettigrew."

Sirius turned his attention to Selene, regarding her with unveiled interest. Getting an acute sense of déjà vu, Selene closed her eyes and opened them again, trying to get the faint memory out of her mind.

"You're not screaming." He pointed out, laughing harshly. "You're braver than you think girl. Couldn't see you properly last time too, bit dark."

"Uh…" Selene went pink at the curious glances everyone save for Fred were giving her. "I was in Hogsmede. At about nine at night, in March."

Hermione blinked. "That was irresponsible." She said slowly. "Okay… What is the world coming to if the Ravenclaws can't stay out of trouble."

"Fred put her up to it." George said quickly, pointing at his twin. "I had nothing to do with it whatsoever, stop looking at me like that Hermione!"

Hermione rolled her eyes as Sirius gave a sharp bark of a laugh, rather like a dog's bark in fact. "You don't seem too bad." He told Selene. "Smart, if you weren't so calm all the time you'd be almost exactly like Harry's mother Lily. Unfortunately that comes with one hell of a temper."

"She's like my mother?" Harry asked excitedly, looking at Selene in a new light.

Shaking his head, Sirius took the chair to the immediate left of Harry's bed. "That doesn't matter. Not right now, anyway. Selene, let's just catch you up with everything that's happened. Your Defence against the Dark Arts teacher wasn't Professor Moody at all; in fact it was Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise." He gave another harsh laugh, shaking his head.

"A Death Eater?" Selene's blood ran cold. "Is the actual Professor Moody alright?"

"He's completely fine, Madam Pomfrey's with him." Fred cut in, moving over to her and planting a kiss on the top of your head. "Calm down love."

"He's the one that rigged the suit of armour to fall on you." Sirius continued, keeping his gaze away from Fred and Selene. "Thinking you would figure out about him, no doubt. That did work, but Dumbledore got a bit suspicious of that, and guessed that there was an intruder in the school. Then during the Third Task Voldemort came back and killed Cedric-"

Selene swallowed, looking down at her hands. "Cedric's… dead?" She managed, feeling an acute sense of detachment from the rest of the room. "He's dead? But everything was safe, otherwise they wouldn't have…"

"They didn't count on Voldemort." Harry said darkly, and Hermione, Ron, Fred and George all shuddered at the name. "Oh come on! He's back; we might as well use his name."

Silently willing herself not to cry, Selene gulped and closed her eyes, clenching her fists. "I think I'm going to be sick." She said quietly, feeling light headed. "Tell me this isn't true; please tell me it isn't…"

No one spoke, and Selene swallowed again and let out a strangled kind of sob that sounded more like a kitten mewling. "He died being brave Selene." Harry said, as if far away. "He died not giving up."

"How many?" She whispered to herself. "How many more will die this time around?"

"'Lene, look at me love." Fred held her chin up with one hand, gazing into her eyes. "It's okay if you're upset, trust me, but it's not okay for you to deal with it like you do. Don't go all quiet and sad like you always do, it's much worse than crying over it."

Selene shook her head, going back to staring at her hands. "I can't." She said simply, breathing in deeply. "I'm sorry, I just…"

"Keep the PDA to a minimum around me, okay?" Sirius interjected, sounding disgusted. "I don't want to watch someone having his hands all over my baby cousin."

Everyone ignored Sirius. "He died doing the right thing Selene, so you have no need to feel bad about it." Harry insisted. "Sirius, please continue."

"Right." Sirius made a retching noise in the back of his throat until he was quelled by a look from Hermione. "Right, okay, that can wait. Voldemort killed Cedric Diggory, and Harry came back saying Voldemort had risen. Crouch got Harry cornered, until Dumbledore caught him and gave him Veritaserum. Then Fudge brought a Dementor into the school, and Crouch got the kiss. He completely refuses to believe Harry, and he's going to try and convince you that he's a complete nutjob." Sirius completed, shuddering. "Never liked him."

Selene sat quietly, taking all of this in, from Voldemort's return to Cedric's murder to Crouch's confession. Crouch had been after Harry, she knew that, but why would he rig the armour to fall on her? She wasn't that important, after all. Selene was simply someone.

"So the Minister thinks you're still a criminal, and on the run." She said eventually, exhaling. "He has no idea that it was Pettigrew. And you've been in touch with Harry, Ron and Hermione for the last year."

"Ye- Hey, wait, I never told you that!" Sirius said, looking shocked. "You are smart, aren't you? Not just book-smart, but actually properly clever. The only other person I know who'd be able to figure that out is Hermione."

Both Hermione and Selene flushed at the compliment. "Oh no, now she's blushing." Fred fake-pouted, getting used to having a wanted criminal around. "You made her blush; only I'm allowed to do that…"

"Shut up." George scowled playfully. "I make her blush too; you are just strangely adept at it. It's not hard, you just tell her something she doesn't want to hear that makes her sound awesome like, 'Selene, did you know that Fred ran into a wall thinking it was the Hospital Wing door yesterday? He was so desperate to see you.' There you go, she's scarlet now. Piece of proverbial pie."

In between their petty argument, Hermione sidestepped over to Selene. "Are you okay?" She asked kindly. "Those two never seem to stop, do they?"

"Not even in bed!" George butted in, making Selene blush again. "Ha ha! Two nil to me!"

"Please refrain from making jokes like that in front of me." Sirius shuddered. "Pray, don't; it mortally wounds me! I can't deal with this soppy love stuff yet; leave it until after the wedding." He looked at Selene intently. "Okay, it's 2-1-0 to you George, bring it on!

"Oh no." Hermione her face in her hands. "Now there's three of them."

Professor Dumbledore strode back behind the curtain, taking one look at the Fred/George/Sirius triangle and sighing. "Sirius, may I ask what you are doing?"

"We're having a contest to see who can make Selene blush the most." Sirius explained, with a wicked grin at his cousin. "George is winning, I'm not far behind and Fred is failing miserably."

"Fred, George, stop that this instant! These two need sleep and so do you!" Mrs Weasley shot the three huddled in the corner a glare that even made Sirius shrink somewhat. "Harry, Selene, dears, get some sleep. You've been through a lot of stress lately."

When everyone had left and Harry and Selene were given strict orders to get some rest, with the help of dreamless sleep potion, she lay awake, staring up at the ceiling. She had missed something, a tiny detail, that was all she could think about. That tiny detail that may not even exist.

And then the hurt, and the regret and the sadness came pouring in, the realisation that Cho would never be quite the same, air-headed but heart-warming person she used to be. Selene had never been especially close to Cedric, but they'd been friends and after last summer her friends had increased in their importance.

"I'm sorry." Selene murmured, seeing a split second glimpse of Cedric's laughing face before her eyes drifted shut.


	29. Chapter 28: Waking Up

**Right! Hello everyone!**

**Thank you for taking the time to read my story, all of you. It means a lot to me. **

**Reviews! Perry The Canary, sopranolife, Kacey and Blueberrytoast! Thank you all so much, and I hope you all like this chapter!**

**And as always, I don't own Harry Potter but I would love a few reviews! (Hint hint!)**

* * *

"You should know by now, you were on my list." - My List by The Killers

* * *

Chapter 28: Waking Up

Selene and Harry were finally let out of the Hospital Wing early the next week, before anyone had the chance to ambush them.

Carrying the bag of Galleons, partially hidden behind his robe, Harry had the air of someone who was just doing his job, rather like Snape in fact. "Are you sur-" He began, but Selene shook her head as soon as he got the beginning of the phrase out.

"No, Harry, it's yours." She insisted, biting her lip and glancing out one of the windows they passed. "Is your leg better yet? You're limping slightly."

Harry looked in astonishment at his leg, seemingly unaware that he had been limping until that very second. "I'm fine." He nodded, walking properly. "Just habit, I guess. Great Hall then? Might as well get this over with."

"You're the gallant hero Harry; I'm just the girl who had a suit of armour fall on her unexpectedly, even if it was rigged by the Death Eater. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time; I had my five minutes of fame when I rescued Gabrielle."

They didn't speak as they progressed down several floors, each of them pausing every once in a while to look out of windows compulsively, for no reason whatsoever. Everyone else was in the Great Hall, and the corridors were silent.

"Are you going back to your parents over the summer?" Harry asked Selene suddenly, looking down at his shoes. "After the Howler, and Fred, and us…?"

"I have no idea." Selene admitted, her hand instinctively reaching for the pocket where the letter was. "I don't think I have any other choice, I have so much I need to tell Draco that he will only listen to if there is absolutely no chance of his friends being able to listen in, and then I want to try and convince Father of… certain things."

"He was there." Harry blurted. "The night Voldemort returned, your father was there. He's a Death Eater Selene, how could you want to go back to a place where you have to live with a Death Eater?"

She stopped in the middle of a step, turning to the window and exhaling gently. "You think I didn't know that?" Selene asked quietly. "There are things I will never tell anyone Harry, if you saw my father t-t-that night, then you know how terrifying he can be. He rules with terror Harry. I have to go back, for reasons that are few and far between, mainly because I have no other option. If I don't… If I didn't then I am basically saying goodbye to everything I'd miss."

"YOU DO HAVE OTHER OPTIONS!" Harry yelled, his temper snapping. "I'M THE ONE WHO HAS TO GO TO MY AUNT AND UNCLES EVERY SINGLE BLOODY SUMMER! YOU MET MRS WEASLEY; SHE'D PROBABLY ADOPT YOU IF GIVEN THE CHANCE! ME, I'M STUCK WITH MUGGLES!"

The words hung in the air for a long time, creating a gap between the two of them in a nanosecond. Harry shook his head, plopping the bag of money into his robe pocket with a resounding thud.

Selene was about to tell him what she had realised, she had the words ready on the tip of her tongue, but they wouldn't flow, what she recited in her mind sounded like garbled nonsense. So she exhaled again, turning back to the window and its view over the grounds.

"I'm sorry." Harry muttered. "I shouldn't have said that. It's Draco, isn't it? I expect I'd feel the same way if I had a younger sibling."

"No, it's me who should be sorry." Selene turned round to face him again. "I have a knack for ignoring the privileges I've been given in life, even if they're right in front of my face. And I wanted to say thank you too. Cedric-" Her breath caught in her throat. "-Cedric always spoke highly of you Harry, he liked you a lot. I can understand what you are feeling right now, and it's best to think of the good things rather than the bad."

They were nearing the Great Hall now, and the chattering noise grew louder and louder as Harry and Selene approached. "How do you understand?" Was the final query, so quiet that it would hardly have been audible in perfect silence.

"I can see Thestrals."

Harry gave Selene a curious look, before he stepped into the Great Hall, one pace in front of Selene exactly.

The chattering ceased abruptly as the entirety of Hogwarts turned to look at the two very different people standing awkwardly in the unnamed gap between the Great Hall and the Entrance Hall. Harry shifted from one foot to the other gingerly, gazing over at the Gryffindor table to look at Ron and Hermione, while Selene simply stared at the floor, ignoring the stares that seemed to be emerging from everywhere.

Someone started to clap, and Selene looked up abruptly. Fred and George, Ron and Hermione had wordlessly broken the awkward atmosphere, and the clapping was quickly picked up by the rest of the Gryffindors, then the Ravenclaws, then the Hufflepuffs. Fleur got up from the Ravenclaw table and launched herself at Selene, tears pouring down her perfect face as she compulsively asked whether Selene was okay, over and over again. Hermione copied this, but decided to focus her efforts on Harry, who clumsily patted her on the back as she berated him in as many different ways as she could manage.

It seemed as if only Cho and a few of the oldest Hufflepuffs were unwilling to celebrate too much, Cho was tracing a pattern in the oak table and the Hufflepuffs were on the verge of glaring at Harry.

But apart from those few, Harry and Selene were swamped by people who simply refused to listen to Selene's insistence that she only had a suit of armour fall on her. Harry was clapped on the back by Roger Davies and Selene was being squealed at by Gryffindor fourth years that she vaguely remembered as being called Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil.

Ron gave Harry a grin and a 'man hug', then turning to Selene and blushing crimson before giving her the briefest of hugs known to Wizarding history.

"Give them space now, give them space." The brisk, stern voice of Professor McGonagall cut through their midst, and the students hastily went back to their tables, giving the 'heros' parting waves or hugs. "Mr Potter, I am pleased to see that you are feeling better."

"Thanks Professor." Harry grinned up at his head of house.

She gave him a tight-lipped smile in return. "And Miss Malfoy, it's good to see you back among us once again. I have set you catch up homework, as with you Mr Potter, and I expect it on my desk by Monday."

"Seriously Professor?" Fred cut in there sarcastically, grimacing for England. "Homework? Harry just won the Triwizard Tournament Miss, give him a break."

"Mr Weasley, I don't remember ever seeing your Transfiguration homework when I was marking them last night, when I was marking them." Professor McGonagall pointed out.

Fred shrugged. "I was busy."

Selene had to cover her mouth with the back of her hand to stop herself for giggling insanely, compromising with a cough instead. Fred shot her a flirty wink that made her laughter die down abruptly and be replaced with slight terror – what was he up to now?

Professor McGonagall shook her head and made her way back up to the staff table, and Professor Flitwick rapidly took her place in front of Harry and Selene. "Miss Malfoy! How are you my dear girl? I was sorry to hear of your accident. I hope you've been keeping well, anyways?"

"I'm fine thank you Professor Flitwick." Selene smiled.

"And Mr Potter, of course, congratulations are in order I think! Well, I simply must be going. Mr Weasley, do remember to give your wand that extra jab when attempting that colour changing charm!"

"What are you doing Fred?" Selene asked, as soon as Professor Flitwick had disappeared. "What are you doing? You must be doing something, you've gone all quiet and… calculating."

"This." Fred grinned at Harry and winked at Selene, before he grabbed her around the waist and pressed his lips to hers.

Instantly, the Great Hall went deadly silent again, but Selene hardly noticed as he moved her hand, one by one, to his shoulders, before winding his arms around her waist.

It lasted for mere seconds before they had to come up for air, but by the look on everyone's faces they might have been snogging all over the floor. Selene buried her incredibly red face in her hands, ignoring the wolf-whistles sent her way from Lee Jordan and Seamus Finnegan. No one, not anyone, had ever seen anything of that type happen in broad daylight, in the Great Hall no less.

"That was worth waiting for, wasn't it?" Fred whispered to her with an evil grin. "I have no shame, my beautiful Ravenclaw, but it appears that you do."

"I hate you." Selene muttered under her breath. "I bloody hate you."

Selene couldn't look at anyone as she walked over to the Ravenclaw table and sat down next to Cho, wordlessly putting food onto her plate as the conversation welled up again. She could still feel the stares penetrating the back of her skull as she fixated on her food.

"You really don't know when to stop, do you?" Cho growled, still tracing the patterns in the table. "You don't ever stop to think about what other people feel, do you? He's dead Selene, and all you can do is go and snog your boyfriend in the middle of the Great Hall to make a scene."

Looking up instantly, Selene shook her head. "I-I didn't, you know I'd never do that! Of course I stop to think Cho."

"_You don't get it though_!" Cho gritted her teeth. "You never got it, all that girly stuff. Then you meet your 'best friend' again, you make new ones, and you get a boyfriend who is about as good for you as ice cream, and you shove me aside."

"I never shoved you aside Cho." Selene protested. "I never did. And Fred…"

"Oh yes, you love him don't you!" Cho said; venom in her voice. "So you'll put up with all his bullshit, all his crap. You'll leave any chance of piecing your family together for him. You'll get a fucking suit of armour dropped on you because you won't see that he's making you a worse person. I'm done with all this shit Selene, you'd better realise that."

She gave Selene one last murderous look, before standing up and publically moving to sit next to Marietta, who glared at Selene with a passion before eagerly beginning to talk to Cho.

"I thought that was romantic." Luna dreamily sat down next to Selene, looking straight ahead like there was an interesting Blibbering Humdinger on the horizon.

"Okay." Selene nodded, having learned to never question any of Luna's theories, and still consumed with Cho's monologue. "If you say so Luna, but I- I don't think Cho feels the same way."

Luna looked down the table to where Cho was discussing something over a bowl of pasta. "Give her time. She's still upset."

"Why does everyone think I've done something special Luna?" Selene asked, setting down her fork and turning to the dreamy girl beside her. "A suit of armour fell on me, that's all. I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Giving Selene a misty smile, Luna patted her on the shoulder a little like Professor Trelawney does. "That's because you are special."

_Remember that friendship sometimes means more than gold, my dear. _

"Of course!" Selene face palmed. "How could I be so stupid? She didn't mean gold in general, she meant the Triwizard gold! And friendship, that has to have meant Cho, right? And Harry, and Ron, and everyone I'm friends with."

Luna nodded dreamily. "I wondered how long it would be before you stopped looking at the bigger picture. It's good to, of course, but occasionally you have to look at the tiny details. I think what Professor Trelawney meant was that there was a way to stay friends with Cho. I'm not sure though, you might have to ask her…"

"How do you know?" Selene blinked at Luna. "I… I didn't tell anyone about that."

Shaking her head, Luna smiled. "You can't hide from fate. Professor Trelawney told me, I do like her an awful lot you know."

Normal P.O.V.

Fred sat down in his usual spot between George and Lee on the Gryffindor table, mock bowing at all the people who were unashamedly staring at him. "Thank you, thank you." He said in a low voice for the comedic pleasure of his fellow Gryffindors. "Please refrain from taking photos, my, my, I'm much too famous nowadays."

"My, my, do you have an overlarge ego." Ginny quipped with a sarcastic smile. "Please refrain from snogging your girlfriend in full view of the Great Hall; it makes some of us queasy."

"One day Ginny, you just wait." Fred shook his head, high-fiving Lee. "I told you mate, I would do that. Give them all something to gossip about that isn't just the Third Task."

"You know." Ron whispered to Harry in an undertone. "If I ever do that, you have permission to hex me."

Harry managed a grin, but it was fake. His mind was still dwelling on the thousand galleons held in his pocket and Cedric's last words. How Selene could be so cheerful after experiences like that, he would never know. Then again, she wasn't in the maze that night, her problem was simply her notorious surname. And she had the person that would never stop joking as a boyfriend, and if their little scene was any indication they had gone from strength to strength. He stabbed his pasta moodily, glancing up at the Top Table as he did.

Professor Dumbledore nodded at him, giving Harry a sombre smile before he stood up and spread his arms wide. "Students, teachers, I am standing up here today to let you know of a most heinous crime and it's cause."

Over on the Ravenclaw table, Cho's eyes were sparkling with tears and Selene was staring down at her hands, both of them surprisingly not even close to one another. The Hall quietened instantly; everyone knew exactly the topic that their Headmaster was on about.

"Cedric Diggory; lost his life on the night of the Third Task." Professor Dumbledore continued; his voice hollow. "He was much liked by everyone that knew him, and he was known to all as a hardworking student and a good friend. His death was a tragedy, but it was not an accident."

Harry held his breath, knowing that this was the moment. "You see, Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort." Many shuddered at the use of his name. An uneasy chill rang out through the hall, turning the atmosphere cold and unpleasant. "The Ministry does not wish me to tell you this, but I have decided that it is better if you know the truth."

Not many people believed Dumbledore, or Harry for that matter. Seamus kept giving Harry shifty looks; Lavender couldn't tear her eyes from a loose thread on her robes. But even Lily was silent, in the memory of Cedric and his bravery.

No one could bring themselves to speak in the common room that night. The twins didn't crack any jokes, Lily didn't have any shouting matches or sarcastic comments to add. Harry stared into the fire, thinking of the way Sirius's head had appeared there so long ago. So much had happened since then, so much had happened this year.

Bad things; and good things. Cedric was gone, and Harry's nightmares certainly weren't. They had just increased.

But the good counteracts the bad, even if he could only think of one thing to go in that pile, even if he dug deep.

He couldn't see himself at the Dursley's now, even if there was one more person to send him letters this year. When Voldemort was back, when Wormtail was with him, Harry couldn't stay quietly with his aunt and uncle. Too much was at stake.

Selene's P.O.V.

"Cho, please, li-"

Cho slammed the door behind her, leaving Selene standing there, tears running down her face and obscuring her vision.

"Listen to me…" She finished quietly, sitting down on the end of her bed and brushing the tears away. The day was warm, in typical June fashion. The sky was Selene's favourite shade of light blue, with no clouds drifting over its canvas. When her mood was grey, the weather always seemed to be the opposite.

Naturally, now she was alone, the niggling sensation returned again. Indecision. If she told him, he might reconsider everything about her again; go back to seeing her as a pureblood bigot. He might hate her for it. It was her fault, of course, all of this mess. If she had just let things be, followed the path her parents had set her on, then she wouldn't be deliberating this when her mind should be focused on regaining her life.

Underneath, was she just a pureblood bigot? Her parents wanted her to be just like them, just like Draco on all the levels she could manage and then some. Does your childhood make you who you are?

If that's true, then why was she sitting on her bed, mourning the loss of a friendship that was broken by a stupid gesture? Shouldn't she be off courting Theodore Nott, taking dancing lessons and wearing huge amounts of makeup?

Why couldn't she have a normal, simple, loving family? Mrs Weasley had been so very kind that night, amazingly so. To a girl she had only heard about since then, a girl that was the daughter of two of the Weasley's greatest enemies; that had to despise her for Ginny's encounter with Lord Voldemort. She had everything they didn't, money, status.

Selene could use a billion words to describe everything that had happened to her in a single year: crazy, strange, mad, stupid, unimaginable. Before this year, Harry Potter was simply a legend, and the star of all the convoluted stories Draco would concoct daily. Ron Weasley was the youngest son of her father's greatest enemy. Hermione Granger was the girl Professor Flitwick would rave about whenever someone did a spell wrong. And the twins were simply the ones that were heroes to everyone.

Now Harry was the person she could identify with, Ron was a tactless idiot with a kind heart, Hermione was her close friend and fellow S.P.E.W. conspirator, George was her brother in every way but blood, and Fred was still his egoistic, maddening, sweet self.

Sacrificing Draco? That wasn't possibly the best decision Selene could have made. Cho was right; she had given him up, her family up for her own selfishness.

She was selfish.

_"Malfoy, Selene!"_

_ I step forward on shaky legs, a new-born foal, ignoring the stares and whispers I collect. She's a Slytherin, for sure. That's the repeated phrase, the mantra of this crowd. Draco was sure, he was green and silver striped, but every step I took closer made me more unsure of my fate._

_ Terror overcomes me on the penultimate stride, and I almost break down before I even hear my verdict. But no, I keep walking, pushing on like a good, pureblood, Slytherin Malfoy. _

_ The stool is made of willow wood; it is the same shade and colour as the wand in my pocket. Mr Ollivander gave me that wand three years ago, telling me that it would only work if I believed it would. It was the wand of a powerful witch or wizard, he said, and that I should be proud that it had chosen me over anyone else. I just had to believe._

_ Belief; that was all I could think about right now. Belief that I would be a Slytherin, belief that I would become the girl I was supposed to become. Mother always says that belief is the best friend when everything else was gone, a fact that she knows better than anyone._

_ Professor McGonagall drops the hat onto my head, and it flops down over my face instantly. I may be bigger than the rest, but I am still tiny compared to some. And I am grateful, the stares are a big enough cross to bare without having to meet them._

"Interesting."_ The Hat speaks inside my head, and I tense up instantly. _"Very interesting. You are quite the enigma."

_"What do you mean?" I ask it, my curiosity peaking before I can shove it down. No, no, that was wrong, a lady does not ask questions unbecoming of her. Maybe I should have stayed in France, at least Mother would be proud of me there._

"Not afraid of knowing more about what make you tick, I see." _The Hat chuckles to itself. _"A Ravenclaw attribute. But then I see great loyalty, kindness and inner strength. Hufflepuff traits. And then courage, for Gryffindor. A small amount of cunning, but not enough to make you a convincing Slytherin."

_"I have to be a Slytherin!" I plead, feeling my muscles tense up as I take this in. "It is what is expected. All our family have been Slytherin, for centuries."_

"You would not fit in Slytherin." _The Hat persists. _"You will become a great witch, capable of amazing things, as long as you are not in Slytherin. I see Gryffindor would be an excellent choice, but your lack of self-confidence and belief would make that path redundant. I apologise my dear, but I simply cannot place you in Slytherin."

_"RAVENCLAW!" The Hat yells this last word aloud to the room, and I choke back a helpless sob. This cannot be happening. What else can I do now? _

_ The Hall has burst into expected applause, punctuated by whispers nonetheless. I stand up, leaving the Hat on the willow stool and take my first steps towards the table that seem to catcalling the loudest. _

_ Even though the Hat's words hang in my mind, I cannot help but feel selfish as I refuse to look at the Slytherins, and Draco._

She had always been selfish; she had given up Draco for the first time when she was sorted into Ravenclaw. Selene could barely meet his eyes for weeks afterwards, especially when her parents sent her all of those letters demanding for a resort.

They weren't Howlers, not quite yet.

And then she had so publically supported Gryffindor over Slytherin all those times, the Quidditch matches to begin with, then sending a card to Harry Potter when Lockhart put him in the Hospital Wing.

Being friends with muggle-borns, tutoring them in Charms when other people were readily available, reprimanding Draco when he pretended to be Slytherin's heir, because the petrifications of all those people were not something to boast about.

And this year, first becoming good friends with George Weasley, then being friends with Hermione Granger, then helping half-breeds and Harry Potter in the Triwizard Tournament, accompanying a Blood Traitor to the Yule Ball, drawing attention to herself during the Second Task, dating Fred Weasley, the Howler, the suit of armour.

And then being snogged in front of the entire school by Fred.

What Harry didn't understand, what everyone would never understand, was that Selene had to go home that summer. If only for long enough to speak to her parents face to face, then at least she would get her point across.

There were a thousand different things she could do now. But which one?

_Dear Mother,_

_ I hope you understand why I am writing to you with such a short time to go before the summer, but I am afraid that this could not wait._

_ You told me at a young age about your courtship and eventual marriage to my father, and I remember enough of it to know that you found the man you love at only fifteen. You were a special case, as you told me, and meeting Father was simply a coincidence, as he was to marry Aunt Bellatrix at the time._

_ The reason I have opened this letter with this recollection is in a hope to sway your opinion on my choices this far in life._

_ Love is a word with only four letters Mother, but it holds many different connotations. The love I feel for you, Father and Draco for one, the love I feel for books for another, the love I have for my friends is a third._

_ But up until now, I have never felt the type of love you described to me when I was a child. Love is unconditional, it's unpredictable and it can also be amazing. It's infuriating too, and crazy and strange. It crept up on me for months, then it slapped me right in the face._

_ What I am trying to say Mother, is that I cannot help who I have fallen in love with. You can't blame me, or him, or yourself. It's simply a coincidence. _

_ I know that it is your dream to see me walk down the aisle at eighteen, on the arm of Father, walking towards Theodore Nott. All my life though, my dreams have come second-best. _

_ For once, I know what I would see if I looked into the Mirror of Erised. I want a family, not just a patchwork one with different pieces sewn in with a futile hope of making it work. I want banter over the dinner table, arguments conducted in daylight, ghouls in the attic and chickens in the back yard. _

_ Fred is amazing. I love him, more than I thought ever possible in life. He makes me better. I make him better too, as he insists. But it's unconditional, and nothing would ever make me stop loving him. My biggest regret is that I was too stubborn to look for him before. He was always there, in the background, waiting in the wings, but never here._

_ His twin brother, George, is like my brother. He teases me mercilessly, makes me do his homework for him, laughs at my clumsiness and would never let me down. I owe him my life, both metaphorically and figuratively. _

_ So, what I am trying to say, is that I love someone you disapprove of in the extreme, but I love him. I know I have never been the perfect pureblood daughter you deserve, who would lay down her happiness in a heartbeat, but I am still your daughter. _

_ Please consider what I have told you when you come to make your final decision._

_ Your loving daughter,_

_ Selene Narcissa Malfoy _


	30. Chapter 29: A Mother's Pain

**I have to say, Wowzers. 8 reviews! Not all on the last chapter admittedly, but still. Thank you all! **

**So, to rosiehorgan7, Tonisa zan frella Sherlolly, The souless ones (x2!), Kacey, Blueberrytoast, sopranolife (who has an awesome story on her profile), and Gurl5678 (again, x2!) thank you so much! You make my life worth living!**

**I will say, this chapter starts off sad, but it ends nicely, I think.**

**Please review!**

* * *

"When you walk away, I count the steps that you take." - When You're Gone by Avril Lavigne

* * *

Chapter 29: A Mother's Pain

Narcissa Malfoy read the letter that was so tightly clutched in both her hands, tears running down her face and sploshing onto the parchment, smudging the ink. She could barely make out the words that she was reading over and over, anyway.

Even as a sense of shock flew though her body, she knew inside that everything was going to culminate somewhere. All those little things. All the big things that she had simply dismissed as human nature.

She could imagine Bella's face now, laughing at her and her rebellious daughter. But Selene wasn't rebellious, she had simply tried to hard and that had made her an easy target for Bella's more… controversial ideas. The ideas that had basically made her bright, vivacious, beautiful daughter into a child too old for her age; scared of her own shadow and nightmares every night.

Thinking about it, she should be glad that Selene was growing up, moving away from the mistakes that were made. But she was changing her path, her destiny if you liked all of that jumped-up astronomical stuff. She was moving away from her family, towards something Narcissa didn't want.

Another burn mark on the Black Family Tapestry.

As a young girl, the resemblance between Andromeda Tonks and Selene was unmistakeable; the child had the same penchant for books as well. But then as Selene grew up, that's where the similarities ended. Whereas Andy had been graceful, an excellent dancer and a well-bred society woman to begin with, Selene was amazingly clumsy, had two left feet and had famously ripped her best dress when trying to help Dobby catch the rabbits in the front lawn once.

It was a shame, with her hazelnut-coloured brown hair and bright blue eyes, tall frame and slimness, Selene was an unmistakeable beauty. The Notts had secured her for their young son the moment Theodore was born, getting her wealth and her beauty in one.

To begin with, it had been a disappointment that the first born of the Malfoys, the child that would inherit the estate and the fortune when they turned twenty-one, was a female. But with much coaxing from Bella and Rodulphus, Lucius and Narcissa had seen that Selene was possibly the best effort their family had in future service for the Dark Lord.

It seemed like everything had gone now, vanished in the blink of an eye.

Thanks to Fred Weasley, it now seemed like Selene was truly lost to them. The way she had talked about him in her letter… it made Narcissa's skin crawl. It was wrong, sick, disgusting. It wasn't right for their family.

Narcissa closed her eyes and drifted away, feeling the wet dampness of tears on her cheek. Her daughter, her beautiful daughter, running around the front lawn in peals of laughter, her bright voice that disappeared so quickly, her love that became quieter in its nature. Maybe Fred Weasley made her better in that way, made her more like she was, that bright, beautiful girl that was snatched the moment that Bella laid eyes on her.

And love was unconditional. She had unconditional love for Selene, and Selene had unconditional love for Fred. He was a prankster, from what Draco knew, he was loud and annoying, sarcastic and crazy. A Gryffindor through and through.

It was kind of ironic really. Narcissa's favourite colour had always been purple. Purple dresses when she was small, contrasting against Andromeda's dark green and Bellatrix's black. Selene was always blue, from the very first time she opened her eyes. Colours look best when they bring out your eyes, any self-respecting woman knows that, and so Selene was always blue. And what colour does blue and red make?

Purple.

Selene was always too clever for her own good, knew too much for one thing. Her words, written so neatly on the parchment, showed that. The way they curled neatly around each other, in that pureblood script that they used among their family, it just made them seem a million times more powerful. Simple words, written in the most amazing of ways.

And what made it worse, is that Selene was right. Love was unconditional, even though Lucius barely saw Narcissa with anything more than lust in his eyes; she had loved him from the moment they were introduced. Love was unpredictable, Andromeda didn't know that she was going to fall so deeply in love with that mudblood, she fled on the spur of the moment. And love could be amazing.

The Mirror of Erised had only ever been a myth to Narcissa, her 'friends' had discovered it, and in fact Andromeda had discovered that she loved Ted Tonks by gazing into it, but it remained a legend to her. And now Selene sounded too sure, so certain about what she would see in it, when she couldn't possibly have seen it.

Ghouls in the attic, chickens in the backyard. Family banter over the dinner table. Fred Weasley. Was that all she wanted? Truly?

Narcissa shook her head and clutched the parchment to her tightly, letting her tears flow and the memories flood. Every single second that Narcissa had loved her daughter, from just gently reprimanding her from speaking to Dobby, to watching her beautiful face peek up from the biggest book in their family library. The day that Selene met her little brother, and the way she'd looked at him, with love shining in her eyes. Taking her on shopping trips to Paris, Madrid, Berlin, New York, enjoying the luxuries that they could.

But she knew that when the Hogwarts letter came, everything would change.

_Miss Selene Malfoy,_

_The Balcony Bedroom,_

_Malfoy Manor,_

_Wiltshire,_

_England._

Selene had traced the green letters with such excitement, before running through the whole house to find Draco to show him, a dream coming true. But she couldn't go to Hogwarts.

She was already too kind to their house elves, to the butterflies in the garden, to the witch that came in to teach Selene classical studies. If she went to Hogwarts, then she would surely start to associate with half-breeds, mudbloods and blood traitors. They couldn't risk it.

Seeing her eldest daughter off to school, in France no less, was one of the hardest things Narcissa ever did. Selene didn't complain about not being able to go to Hogwarts, but the disappointment was evident in her face. Lucius apperated them across to France with a cross-seas permit and a letter to Madame Maxime.

When they next saw her, that next summer, Selene was fluent in French. It was quite a shock, but it transpired that she had been given lessons in the language, and she showed a natural aptitude for learning, much like the witch that used to teach Selene classical studies always used to say.

But then they heard about Fleur Delacour. She would have been an ideal friend for their daughter in any different circumstance, graceful, kind, pretty, but apparently she had been quite a bad influence on Selene.

Then when Draco became eleven, when he received his Hogwarts letter, Lucius brought up the question. Would he react better to such a new environment if he had his elder sister with him?

So they transferred Selene to Hogwarts at the age of thirteen, having told Professor Dumbledore of her magical abilities and their potential, and having convinced him.

She was always blue; Narcissa should have seen it coming. Selene was always too clever, she always knew too much. She wasn't afraid to ask why. Her wand, willow and dragon heartstring, 12 inches, Ollivander had told her that it belonged to a powerful witch or wizard.

Ravenclaw.

Narcissa had made mistakes, everyone makes mistakes, but sometimes mistakes are hard to ignore after seventeen years. Selene was of age, she could leave legally whenever she chose to. But she was, as Selene had mentioned in her letter, still their daughter.

Fred's P.O.V.

He found her sitting on the side of the lake, reading the biggest book he would have ever thought possible.

Selene didn't look up as he approached, knowing who it would be long before she even sat down in the spot. After all, everyone else was too busy packing and saying goodbye to bother to find her.

She would be saying goodbye too, but she didn't know who she'd be saying goodbye to.

"What can I say? At least you're reading outside." Fred shrugged and attempted to read the book over her shoulder. "But… I can't read it. What does it say?"

"It says, 'Fred Weasley, stop reading over my shoulder'." Selene summarised, rolling her eyes. "Why are you even out here anyway? I thought you'd be saying goodbye to all your Quidditch buddies."

"Nah." Fred yawned. "I always say goodbye on the train, for personal reasons. I thought you'd be saying goodbye to Fleur and company."

Selene shrugged, glancing up from the book to glance across at the powder-blue carriage of Beauxbatons. "I will do, but that's tonight, isn't it? I've got a whole day to do absolutely nothing except read."

Frowning, Fred tried to wrestle the book out of her hands. "That's so boring!" He whined. "It's the last day of our sixth year, do something fun for once."

"This is fun." Selene insisted, re-opening the book.

He made a frustrated sound halfway between a groan and a growl, and flopped down on the grass dramatically, before looking up quickly to see whether Selene had stirred. She hadn't.

"Talk to me then." Fred improvised, getting bored. "You win; by the way, the Harpies thrashed the Cannons."

"I know." She still didn't look up from the page she was reading. "I said they would."

"What's wrong, normally you jump at the chance to grind the Cannon's name into the mud." He sat up so he could see the whole of her quietly reading face. "Selene, what's the matter?"

"Fred," Selene sighed, closing the book and sliding her bookmark in between the pages. "Voldemort's back. Do you know what that means for me?"

"No, and to be honest I don't think it matters." Fred said quietly, resting his head on her shoulder carefully. "I love you, you know?"

"I do know, and that's the problem." Selene looked down at her hands. "I love you too, but that's not going to help me one bit. Do you remember the last war? All the people that died? I'm scared, okay? I'm scared that one d-day I'll w-wake up and you w-won't be…" She trailed off here, a lump forming in her throat that made it too hard to continue.

"I will be." Fred sat up straight again and stretched out his legs. "I always will be. I'm always going to be here."

They were both quiet for quite some time, Selene biting her lip and staring out over the lake in quiet contemplation. "Do you know what you want to do when you get out of school?"

Fred looked at Selene in surprise, taken aback by her out-of-the-blue question. "Me and George want to run our own business. Jokes, obviously."

"You'd be good at that." She said calmly. "I can see you running a joke shop somewhere random."

Laughing in relief, Fred grabbed her arm. "Hey, wait, I thought you were going to go all Prefect on my arse and tell me off for not being sensible or something. This is refreshing."

"What, you want me to?" Selene smiled and turned to him. "Frederick Gideon Weasley, whatever are you thinking! You must get a job in the Ministry just like Percival and your father!"

"What do you think, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes or Weasley and Weasley?" Fred asked her. "I need your expert opinion. What sounds better?"

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." Selene said without a moment's thought. "The other one sounds too formal for the best joke shop in the Wizarding World"

"And that is why I love you." Fred chuckled, cupping her head in one of his hands. "You feed my ego; you look beautiful while doing it and you do my homework!"

"I am seriously regretting saying that now." Selene groaned, rolling her eyes as best as she could with her head being completely still by Fred's hand. "And I hardly ever do your homework, thank you."

Fred chuckled again, kissing her once on the nose. "You are still beautiful though, my Ravenclaw. You cannot doubt that."

"Shut up."

"Gladly."

For Fred, kissing Selene was like breathing, natural, easy and addictive. He couldn't live without it. And before now, he had his twin brother jumping on him every time he made a move, which was simply because George was a lonely bachelor that had to put up with his Fred flirting with his girlfriend every single second.

But, for now (who knew when George would actually leave them alone for a bit again?) they were alone. Just Fred and Selene, too wrapped up in one another to really care if Voldemort invaded Hogwarts at that very moment.

"I have Transfiguration homework for the holidays, love, what do you say?" Fred whispered, kissing the top of Selene's ear.

"I'll think about it." Selene murmured, rolling he eyes. "And what happened to shutting up?"

He moved back down to her mouth, chuckling slightly as Selene wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Fred." Selene pulled back momentarily. "I have other things to do."

"But _Selene_…" Fred whined. "I'm bored…"

Selene shook her head, picking up her book again. "Go and… prank someone. That always cheers you up. Believe it or not, snogging you is not number one on my list of priorities. I'd like it to be, but it's not. Sorry Freddie."

"Don't call me Freddie." Fred growled, lying back down on the ground. "Then talk to me then, don't just read your book like a Ravenclaw."

"I am a Ravenclaw." Selene reminded, shaking her head in exasperation, as he went rather pink at being caught out. "But okay. What do you want to talk about? The state of the economy?"

"What does that even mean?" He asked, raising his eyebrows higher than should have been physically possible. "No, let's talk about something that I can actually understand. Bacon, for example."

"Bacon is the food of the gods." Selene began, incredibly seriously, fighting a smile. "Then chocolate, then chocolate and bacon. Have you ever tried chocolate and bacon? It's calories on a plate, as my mother like to call it."

Fred froze, turning his head to face Selene with uncanny slowness. "What did you just say?" He asked, aghast.

"I said that bacon was the food of the gods." She repeated, looking at him strangely. "Then chocolate, then chocolate and bacon. Why? Did I get something wrong?"

"And to think George always said that I was never going to find someone else who likes to eat chocolate and bacon." Fred said, with a mysterious air. "Selene, my beautiful girlfriend, I love you even more now you've told me that."

Selene rolled her eyes, but didn't protest as Fred quietly pulled her down onto the grass, the book forgotten.

* * *

George looked up from his packing as his twin brother strolled into the dormitory, hands in his pocket and looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"Hair." Was all he said, before turning back to his already overflowing trunk and resisting the urge to just yell at it. "You've been a long time, what were you doing down there? Should I be scared? Worried? Is there a baby Weasley on the horizon, perhaps?"

Fred was much too smug to even glare at him. "Nah, mate. Just a lovely lady and an enlightening conversation about bacon that-"

"-ended up in snogging, yes Fred I get the picture." George cut in, throwing a nose-biting teacup into the endless masses of junk. "It doesn't mean I want to hear about it, or know about it. Your hair is evidence enough, I don't need it verbatim."

"Jealous much, Georgie?" Teased Fred lightly, ducking the pillow that George lobbed at him. "Getting violent now? Over a girl? I never thought I'd see the day."

Straightening up so he could see the casual way Fred was chucking a scrunched-up piece of paper up at the ceiling, George rolled his eyes. "Are you actually going to do anything with your crap or is it going to live here over the summer?"

Fred waggled his eyebrows and muttered a spell under his breath that made all his 'crap' fly into his trunk and pack itself away neatly. "Ta dah!" He flourished his wand with a grin and pocketed it again, resuming to throw his paper up at the ceiling again.

"What was that?" George asked incredulously.

"Well, my dear brother, that comes with having an amazingly talented girlfriend with amazing charm skills. Basically, it's _Pack! _With a swivelling motion." Fred explained, lobbing his paper ball neatly into the already-overflowing wastepaper basket that Lee had conjured. "Elementary, my dear George."

When George had successfully cast the charm and sat himself down next to his twin, Fred had a sudden spark of inspiration. "So, George." He began, nodding as if agreeing with some distant part of his mind. "What exactly had been going on between you and a certain girl called Angelina Johnson?"

George blushed with a skill that could rival Selene's. "Absolutely nothing." He said, with a definite air. "Nothing at all. She is your ex-girlfriend after all, and it would be a bit awkward if we started… uh, dating."

"Nothing at all?" Fred clapped a hand over his heart. "I have heard denial Georgie, but that it some of the worst denial I have ever heard!"

"Really?" George quirked an eyebrow. "Were your ears working all that time that you tried to deny that you liked our favourite Ravenclaw? Because the conversations we had during that time were painful. You would deny it, then instantly get this glazed look and start to drool."

"Don't EVER tell Selene that." Threatened Fred. "She has enough blackmail material as it is."

"Talking of blackmail…" George produced a letter from the pocket of his jeans and waved it in front of Fred's face. "Bagman's done a runner, completely gone, all of it. Apparently those goblins we saw him chatting to weren't the nicest."

"I think I now understand Mum's antagonising over gambling." Fred groaned. "Now we're broke. And it's our last year next year, if we even bother going."

George sighed. "Have you told Selene about that yet?'

Fred shrugged. "I promise I was going to, but then we got preoccupied. I'm sure she'll accept whatever we do, she's already told me that the joke shop is the right way to go for us two. And she'll get all O's no problem; we don't have to be there."

"Yes, but it's our last year. Her last year too. I think she'd like it if we bothered to turn up." George pointed out. "And she can help us do some customer research if she's a like-minded person."

Choosing not to reply to this, Fred groaned again and clutched his forehead. "And maybe next year could make us some money too. Hopefully."

"Hopefully." George echoed almost wistfully. "That is if Mum hasn't fulfilled her promise and destroyed everything we left at home like she was threatening to. Then we'll be nowhere."

They were both silent for quiet some time.

"Oh, okay, I fancy Angelina." George blurted suddenly. "I'm not too bothered though, it's not like we're going to get married or anything."

Little did he know that in a good few years time that someone would be using that exact line against him at his wedding.

Normal P.O.V.

"I shall mees you zo much Selene!" Fleur exclaimed throatily, embracing her friend in a delicate hug. "I 'ope to get a job 'ere to eemprove my Eeenglish, no? We shall 'ave to meet up sometime!"

"Okay." Selene smiled. "Is that because of you or because of that man you said you'd met? Are you sure that you won't tell me his name?"

Fleur shook her, head, before embracing Selene again passionately. "We shall be ze best ov friends!"

"Ahem." George coughed politely, before stepping forward and grasping Fleur's hand. "It was simply a pleasure to meet you Miss Delacour." He said in a deep voice, kissing her hand.

Not about to be outdone, Fred leaped forward and took Fleur's other hand with an extravagant bow. "Your voice will sing forever in my dreams, Miss Delacour." He winked at her. "Not a day will pass when I do not think of your enchanting smile, your beautiful hair your-"

"Oi, Fred, you're the one with the girlfriend mate!" Lee jumped in, pushing Fred to one side in his obvious excitement. "Miss Delacour, it is such a shame you have to go!"

Fleur giggled at having three boys fawning over her, and pretended to fan her head with her hand. "Oh, Meester Weezly, Meester Jordan, I am sure zat I will not forget you zat easily! After all, Meester Weezly, did you not walk eento me?"

George shook his head hastily. "No, that was my effortlessly clumsy twin!" He pointed to Fred. "It was him, not me!"

"Ah, but I like him more, no?" Fleur pecked Fred on the cheek. "'E iz veery 'andsome, no?"

Seeing the look on everyone's faces, Fleur burst out into her chiming laughter that made Fred, George and Lee and chuckle nervously too. "I am joking, joking. 'E iz ze nicest because 'e iz… ah, what iz ze word?"

"Dating." Lee supplied. "It's a shock to us all, we know. Freddie dearest has grown up."

Fleur totally ignored him. "Yes, 'e iz dating Selene. You two are beautiful togezzer, no?"

As Selene went incredibly pink and murmured something about the weather, Gabrielle ran forward and hugged her around the waist, as that was the highest point of Selene that she could reach. "I will miss you!" She nattered in French. "Mama and Papa want you to visit during the holidays, and I am sure Domini would love to see you two!"

"I'll miss you too little flower." Selene and Fleur were the only two ones who understood French apart from Gabrielle, so when she hugged Fred and professed her undying love for him they began to laugh, making themselves look like complete idiots in the process.

"One day, I will tell him what Gabrielle just said." Selene whispered to Fleur quietly, biting back her laughter.

"Make sure I am there too." Fleur giggled, shaking her head at her sister. "I want to see his face."

Gabrielle skipped off towards Madame Maxime, leaving an extremely confused Fred behind staring after her. "What did she just say?" He asked curiously, tilting his head to one side. "That was French, wasn't it? I don't understand French."

"Ah, Selene, eet iz time." Fleur kissed Selene once on each cheek, in the French custom, and pressed a little note into the palm of her hand. "From Mama and Papa." She said in an undertone, nodding at her. "They told me to give eet to you."

Walking away with an elegant wave, she walked over to where Harry, Ron and Hermione were clustered at the other side of the courtyard. George stared after her for a few moments, before shaking his head and slinging one of his arms carelessly around Selene's shoulders.

"Ah, the French." He reminisced fondly. "I think we'll be seeing a fair bit of her in the future Selene my dear. And not just us."

"What ever do you mean?" Selene complained. "Everyone's been saying things like that for days, and I have no idea what anyone means. Who was the guy Fleur met? Do you know him?"

George chuckled, nodding. "Oh yes, that I do. And no, we're not telling you, you're supposed to be the smart one so you figure it out."

"Don't worry, I don't know either." Lee patted her on the back. "We can figure it out together, eh?"

"No, actually, if you say that again Lee then I'm going to tell her straight off." Fred warned. "No flirting with my girlfriends, we established that back in first year."

"Girlfriends?" George pretended to look shocked. "What happened to the monogamous Fred Weasley we all know and love? Who's the other one then? Alicia? Katie? Oh! I know, Pansy Parkinson!"

For once in his life, Fred was properly lost for words. "W-what?" He spluttered. "No way! George, I absolutely hate you. One thing, Parkinson is a troll and is obviously in love with Malfoy, and two why would I want two girlfriends?"

George raised his hands in surrender. "I was joking, honest! Prankster's honour. Calm down Freddie darling. We all know you are irrevocably obsessed with Selene here, otherwise you wouldn't have turned up in our dormitory earlier with a twig stuck in your hair."

"I thought we agreed that we weren't going to mention that?" The tips of Fred's ears started to go slightly pink. "That is between us only Georgie-pie."

"You've got nicknames for each other now?" Selene blinked, sounding vaguely amused. "Freddie darling and Georgie-pie? What's Lee, Lee-cake?"

"That is a stupid nickname." Lee protested as the twins got identical grins on their faces. "No, I refuse to be called Lee-cake. It sounds stupid, and it is stupid."

"Aw, is Lee-cake complaining?" George grinned, slinging his other arm around Lee. "Is ickle Lee-cake annoyed? Freddie darling, do say that you heard that."

Fred shook his head. "I was too busy trying to think of a stupid nickname for Selene here, and I think I have it. Selene, love, what do you think about cheesecake? It suits you perfectly, I think."

"Great, you three just get variations on your actual name and I get named after a type of food." Selene frowned. "Fred, if I have to be cheesecake, you're bacon, okay?"

**The next chapter is the Hogwarts Express, and then I have a few chapters of summer (maybe about ten?) lined up for you. I have no idea what's going to happen, so please review or PM me with your ideas.**

**Thank you!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	31. Chapter 30: Purple Tinted Haze

**Wave a chicken in the air, stick a deckchair up your nose, buy a jumbo jet, then bury all your clothes. Nothing else to say, sorry.**

**I've gone back and done some minor edits to previous chapters, so ignore any notifications you may get about them.**

**Thanks to bellatrixD, Perry The Canary, wrxting, Gurl5678 (x2!), basakesener and MysteriousMindBlockedHeart!**

**Please review!**

* * *

"You loved me and I froze in time." - She Wolf (Falling To Pieces) by Sia

* * *

Chapter 30: Purple Tinted Haze

If you had told Selene at the beginning of the year that by the end of school she would be squeezed into a cramped compartment with the Weasley twins, their little brother, the Boy Who Lived, Hermione Granger, Lee Jordan and Ginny Weasley then she probably would have fainted, or simply not believed you.

But there she was, squashed between Fred and Hermione like a piece of ham in a sandwich, trying to conduct a conversation with Ginny about what type of cheese was Harry personified with Ron being thrashed by George at Exploding Snap at her immediate right and Fred breathing into her ear every other second.

"Ha! I win again!" George crowed, as Ron glowered up at his scorched eyebrows. "Ready for round twenty little brother? Or are you going to concede that I am the best in the world at Exploding Snap?"

"Georgie-pie, do calm down." Fred smirked. "I'm sure ickle Ronnie here will want to continue."

"You can talk Bacon." George smirked too, at the expressions on everyone's faces. "Hey, Cheesecake, do you want a game? I've never played against a Ravenclaw before, but I'm sure I could still win."

Selene face-palmed, before turning to the half of the compartment that had no idea what they were on about. "Somehow we now have nicknames for each other. They don't really make sense either. George is Georgie-pie, Freddie's Bacon, I'm Cheesecake and Lee's Lee-cake."

Hermione shook her head in exasperation. "Really boys, I am sometimes astounded by your lack of logic."

The compartment door opened, and Hermione's head swung round instantly, hitting Selene with her bushy hair. Harry and Ron stood up instantly, but Selene was unable to see who it was from her position and had to lean forward slightly, almost toppling off the seat.

Grabbing her instinctively as she toppled, Fred managed to reach her before she actually fell off. "Careful love." He grinned. "Don't fall off now, we haven't instigated Plan-"

He was shushed quickly by a quietly furious George, who was staring at the door in anger. Selene looked around, now being able to see, and took in the slightly familiar sight there.

Draco was casually leaning against the doorframe, looking indifferent but his eyes were full of annoyance and he took in Fred and Selene. From where she was sitting Selene knew that he only had his hands on her waist to steady her, but from where Draco was standing it probably looked very different.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry spat, drawing his wand and pointing it at Malfoy's head.

"Careful Potter, you might put someone's eye out." Draco drawled, with a careful glance at Fred that did absolutely nothing. "I just wanted a word with my dear sister, that's all. Think you can allow that, Weasel?"

He directed that last comment to Fred, who gritted his teeth. "Your dear sister is-" He began, but Selene stood up and walked over to the door.

"It's okay Fred, I need to talk to him anyway." She insisted gently. "Draco."

They closed the compartment door behind them and moved into the empty one opposite, Draco glancing around to make sure that they wouldn't be overheard.

"What was the Weasel doing, with his filthy paws all over you?" He snapped.

"He was making sure I didn't fall over Draco, okay?" Selene explained. "That isn't important though. What did you want to talk about? I haven't spoken to you since March."

Draco gave Selene an incredulous look. "You know what I wanted to talk about. You wrote a letter to Mother, writing about how much you were in love with that pathetic Weasel and why we should listen to you. I wanted to tell you this now, the moment Weasel-bee kissed you, you were gone to me. And just because I haven't spoken to you doesn't mean that I don't know what you've been up to, talking to our Blood-Traitor cousins and sending letters to our disgraced aunt. It's not just Weasel, it's a lot of things."

"Draco, I'm considering not coming home." Selene cut in, and Draco fell silent. "What good would it do me? You know how angry Father would be; it'd just be another excuse. This year was supposed to be the year I officially become engaged to Nott, and you have to understand why I don't want that now. I never wanted it, now I have a proper excuse."

"So you're going to run off with your Blood-Traitor?" Draco asked her quietly, looking out of the window. "Be all lovey-dovey and have lots of Weasley-Malfoy kids?"

Selene blushed, but nodded, thinking it a good-enough explanation. "Kind of."

But before Draco could react or even say anything, he compartment door opened and the figure of Theodore Nott stepped in, nodding at Draco and grasping Selene's hand excitedly and kissing it. "My dearest Selene, I have missed you."

Repulsed, Selene managed a very fake smile. "As have I Theodore, but I am afraid I must return."

"But my dearest, we have not yet discussed the preparations for our engagement ball!" Nott exclaimed overdramatically. "Of course, I will be wearing green, do you know what colour you will be wearing my dearest?"

"Mother will be sorting that out for her." Draco explained, almost bored. "I am afraid Selene has little sense of fashion."

Nott became downcast at this, and Selene resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He was always overly flamboyant. But thankfully he didn't comment on Draco's observation and went back to gazing placidly at Selene. "I am sure Mrs Malfoy knows what she is on about, there is no reason to doubt the mother of such a lovely girl." He pressed his lips to the back of Selene's hand again, making her shudder.

Standing up, Draco bowed deeply to Nott, as was the expected pureblood custom, and inclined his head in the merest of gestures towards Selene. "Theodore, Selene, I am afraid I must leave you. Good luck with your… preparations."

Selene caught the double meaning of these words and looked down at her hands; that were still being clasped by Nott, in a gesture of defiance. She heard the compartment door pen again and close, which meant that she was completely alone, with Nott.

Almost as if he read her mind, Nott began to talk mindlessly about something or other pertaining to their upcoming engagement celebrations, and Selene turned her gaze to the scenery flashing by and though about things that might actually keep the fake smile on her face.

_"Selene!" Fleur yells, running down the beach towards me, her slivery-blonde hair flying out behind her in waves anyone would be envious of. _

_ I look up from my book and smile, folding down the corner of the page as I brush a sliver of my hair out of my face. "Fleur, try as you might, I am not going to come out from the shade."_

_ She shakes her head at me in exasperation, but also in resignation. "You are too quiet for your own good Selene. Anyone would think you didn't want to be here!"_

_ I shake my head quickly, almost too quickly but Fleur does not notice that. I am pleased to be here, thanks to Monsieur and Madame Delacour I have been able to escape for part of this summer holiday. The south of France is just as lovely as the Parisian areas that I came to love as a child, just much warmer. _

_ "Then come and swim!" Fleur insists, shaking her head again. "You are too shy; we must make you come out of your shell a little. Please."_

_ "Okay…" I groan, placing my book to one side and standing up. "Just for a while, Mother will kill me if I tan."_

_ "Great!" Fleur flashes me a pearly-white smile. "Gabrielle has already fallen over twice, let's see if you can beat her in half the time."_

_ She giggles, and everyone turns to look at the beautiful quarter-Veela and her shy English friend. Fleur likes to poke fun at my clumsiness, not in a mean way, but purely in friendship. The sea shines my favourite shade of bright blue, and the sun is the colour of egg-yolk in the sky. Try as I might, I can't escape this perfect day._

There were a series of loud bangs from the corridor, and Selene jumped, dislodging Nott's hands from her lap. "What was that?" She asked curiously, her pureblood decorum forgotten.

Nott looked at her in a quietly furious fashion, but he had no time to talk about it as another loud bang started the silence. "I will investigate." He said through clenched teeth – he had the girl with the money but not the elegance or sophistication – standing up and walking out into the corridor.

With Nott gone; Selene stood up and brushed down her trousers carefully, standing to one side as she pushed the compartment door open again.

Surprisingly, the corridor was empty; Draco and Nott had both vanished from sight. Selene took her chance and walked back across into the compartment she had previously occupied, almost stepping on three prone figures.

"Selene!" George exclaimed cheerily. "How… erm… are you! Mind your step, there are three filthy Slytherins on you way in."

Even with a strange assortment of bodily features attached to random parts of their bodies, their figures were still recognisable as her brother, Crabbe and Goyle. Nott was not among the people on the floor, and Selene looked up to see him being forcibly restrained by Lee and Ginny as Fred was being restrained by Hermione and Harry.

"Let me at him!" Fred growled, attempting to struggle free of Hermione and Harry's grip. "The serpent, that slimy serpent…"

"What's the matter Weasley?" Nott sneered. "Too chicken to man up and fight me?"

Fred shook off Hermione's grasp and surged forward, punching Nott around the face while Harry desperately tried to hold him back. Nott crouched close to the floor, clutching his jaw and glaring up at Fred.

"Fred, what are you doing?" Selene exclaimed, pushing past George. "What?"

"He's under the illusion that you like him dearest." Nott tried to get up, but Fred kicked him in the leg. "That isn't true, surely? After all, I am your approved match, all your family agree."

Everyone's gazes flipped from Fred and Nott to Selene, all shocked apart from George, who carefully chose to look at the wall. Selene flushed pink, and took one step away from the group. "Well, that's lovely Theodore, but I'm going to have to ask you to stop provoking my boyfriend."

"What?" Nott stood up this time. "This pathetic Weasel, that Blood Traitor, your boyfriend?"

George rolled his eyes. "Well, I thought that would be obvious, considering that my twin here snogged her right in front of everyone only a matter of days ago. Where have you been, preening in your common room?"

"Is this true?" Nott glowered, making to walk to Selene but finding a group of people blocking his way.

"Yes, okay, it is." She admitted. "And please just… go. This is getting awkward, and strange. I'm sure my parents will arrange us another meeting before."

Hermione and Harry moved, albeit reluctantly, so Nott stood face to face with Selene. "I trust I shall see you at our engagement ball." He said curtly, and bent to kiss Selene's hand again. "Move it, ginger."

Within seconds, there was another body on the already conspicuous pile on the floor, and George was standing over it looking vaguely guilty. No one questioned his actions, instead rounding on Selene.

"What? What was that?"

"What did Nott mean, 'Engagement Ball'?"

"Why didn't you tell us? Do you want this?"

"Just… what just happened?"

"Please, I promise I'll explain, but I can't if you won't shut up!" Selene raised her voice, and everyone fell silent, astounded at her out-spoken-ness. "Um… thanks."

She sat down, soundlessly waiting for everyone to follow her lead. No one sat down though, they all kept standing. Hermione and Ginny were wordlessly shocked, George was un-amazed but still gaping, Lee was shaking his head at her, Harry looked both scared and annoyed, and Fred… he just looked furious.

"Nott is…" Selene began, in a ridiculously high-pitched voice that did not belong to her. "He's my… my fiancé I guess. My match at the very least. We were engaged when he was a baby; I was three at the time. They – the Notts – want the money that I will inherit when I turn 21 or when I marry. And of course, they're pureblood and respectable aren't they?"

Selene felt a lump in her throat and she had to clench her fists to keep from welling over. Hermione had already softened, but no one else had calmed down yet. So she continued. "Now I'm of age, its procedure for the families of the two partners to hold an engagement ball. Regardless, may I add. Voldemort may be back but that won't stop them in the least."

"Do you want this then?" Fred spoke for the first time, not meeting her gaze. "Do you want to… marry that snake?' He shuddered, the words obviously repulsing him.

"No!" Selene protested, looking up from her clenched fists. "No! I hate him, he's disgusting and mean and abusive. He's utterly oblivious to the fact that I hate him too, he probably refuses to believe everything unless it's presented to him on a gold platter."

"Great!" George broke the awkward silence. "So our plan is go then? No? Not yet? We have about four hours to get it sorted and ready to put into action, so come on!"

No one moved.

"'Lene." Fred used the nickname for her – still not knowing that he wasn't the first to use that derivative. "'Lene, why didn't you tell me this earlier? How long have we been dating now, almost five months? I thought you could at least trust me with things like this."

"Maybe I didn't think you'd take it seriously!" Selene snapped, holding her head in her hands. "This is real Fred, too real for me but still real. Life can't be all rainbows and sunshine. Maybe for you, not for me. I sent a letter to my mother Fred, I'm trying, I really am. I told her everything, I admitted everything, and she hasn't got back to me. I love you, okay? If life was perfect then my parents wouldn't hate you and they would simply let me love you without trying to get me to marry someone I… hate… okay? Just…"

She took a shuddering breath and wiped her eyes furiously. Fred moved to sit next to her for the first time since she had walked in, but didn't make any further moves than that. ""Lene, Godric, just for once let me worry about you. Let us worry about you; it's not just you against your family anymore. We're all here for you."

There were murmurs of assent from throughout the compartment, and Fred continued. "Please trust me when I say this, I do have to ability to take things seriously love. Especially when it concerns you. I love you too, and I never actually thought you'd like Nott. And as for this ball thing, if our plan works, then you won't have to worry about it in the slightest. And it will work, because I came up with it, and my plans always work."

Hermione burst into peals of laughter at this last statement, and Fred glared at her in mock-anger. "Well, you can _say _that." She shrugged, still shaking with laughter. "But it's not right, by any means at all."

"Remember the time we piloted the car to get Harry?" Ron quickly affirmed. "You and George thought no one would notice that we were gone, and then Mum came into the garden and started to shout at us."

"Well, this is different." Fred pouted. "I have more time to plan it, and I have more reasons to do it – not that you weren't important Harry." He added hastily. "You just weren't in life-threatening danger from a slimy Slytherin and a family with crazed pureblood ideals."

"I love you Fred." Selene shook her head, the sobs subsiding. "You always make things better without even trying. Egoistical idiot."

She leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes to block out the view of the four unconscious Slytherins on the floor and the people that were still bantering about Fred and George's various fails over the years. It was times like this that she could see the world through a purple-tinted haze, just feeling safe among people that actually cared about her.

"Do you ever think about dead people Fred?" Selene murmured so only he could hear her.

"I don't tend to, no. Why?"

Selene opened her eyes for a split second to check that she was still in the carriage. "When people have died, people that I knew, or even people that I didn't, I guess it's hard not to think about them. Like I had a great-uncle Alphard once, he left all of his money to Sirius and caused a huge scandal. Then there was a tale Mother used to tell me, about a distant relative that went off and married someone my ancestors hated."

"You know about a lot of people that are dead then." Fred kissed the top of her head carefully. "Anyone I should be concerned about?"

"No, you idiot."

"Right!" Fred stood up suddenly, his voice cutting above the others like a knife "We need to get this plan into action! Ron, Harry, if you would be so kind as to move these Slytherins out of the way so we don't trip over them. Hermione, I am going to need your expertise and Lee, I think the Dungbombs should do it."

"Sir yes sir!" Lee winked at Selene before throwing and catching a paper bag in one hand and departing for the corridor.

Harry and Ron groaned but managed to successfully drag the prone bodies of Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott across into the compartment opposite, Zabini quickly joining their ranks after he came to investigate. Hermione took out a piece of parchment from her bag.

"_Revelio._" She said clearly, and writing began to spread out from the centre. "Right, Fred, I expect you will want to do the honours?"

She spent the next few minutes explaining to Fred in extremely clear tones exactly what he had to do, while George penned an incredibly quick letter to his dad. Harry and Ron were on guard duty, so to speak, which involved whistling the chorus to 'Dance Like A Hippogriff' every time anyone walked by.

"Right, so it's a circular motion?" Fred nodded at the parchment. "Thanks 'Mione dear, I would never have cracked this without your help."

"Thank you, but please don't call me 'Mione Fred." Hermione folded the sheet up and placed it in her pocket. "On the count of three."

"What are you going to do to me?" Asked Selene, feeling incredibly scared about letting Fred anywhere near her with a wand. "Fred, please say you know what you're doing."

Fred scoffed, waving a hand. "Of course I do love. For the next two hours, you are becoming an honorary Weasley, red hair and all. Not a Weasley triplet unfortunately, but I don't think I could cope with seeing you as my double. I'd probably die of laughter."

This didn't make Selene feel better. "So it's a hair colour changing charm."

"Yes."

"I could do that myself, you know." Selene pointed out.

Fred shook his head. "Like I said, sit back. Let me worry about you, as that's in the job description for being an amazing boyfriend. It's simple, I think. Come on, I think you'd look really sexy with red hair."

"Yes, but you can't kiss me if I'm technically supposed to be impersonating a Weasley, because that would be incest."

The change in his attitude was amazingly fast. "Hermione, can we do something else? Anything else, in fact?" He asked quickly.

Hermione shook her head, "This was your idea. Now, come on. 3…2…1…"

Fred muttered something unintelligible, and Selene felt a warm sensation on the top of her head. When she moved her hair so she could see it, it was a flaming red colour, exactly like Ginny's.

"Wow." She exhaled, impressed despite herself. "This is very lifelike. Do I look like a Weasley then Hermione?"

"You could be Ginny's older sister." Hermione smiled, giving Selene a loose hug.

Fred shuddered. "Don't worry love; you look too much like a demonic female version of Percy."

"Thanks." Selene said sarcastically, sticking her tongue out at him. "Thanks a lot."

Entering the compartment again, Ginny did a double take when she saw the girl with Weasley-red hair that had spontaneously appeared while she had been gone. "Wha- Selene? What have they done to you?"

"It's the plan Gin." George reached over to ruffle Ginny's hair. "She's only going to be your demonic older sister for a while. Hopefully not long at all, it only has to work for Platform 9 and three-quarters, not a moment longer. Mother would have a conniption."

Ginny peered over his shoulder at the letter he was penning. "Why are you writing to Dad then?"

"That's the beauty of it little sister." George smirked. "Mum will blow her gasket if she realises what we're up to so I'm writing to Dad to try and get some time off work to pick us up with Mum, so if she does he can calm her down."

"I… I don't get it." Ginny despaired, sitting herself down by Selene. "Oh, Fred, George, whoever's who, Harry says that he wants to talk to you two about something or other. No idea what though."

The twins shrugged simultaneously and left, leaving Hermione, Ginny and Selene alone in the carriage. Hermione sighed and sat down in the empty seat George had left, opposite Ginny. "Boys."

"Boys." Ginny and Selene echoed.

Hermione took out a letter from her pocket with a blush. "Viktor." She explained generally. "He… he wants to be penfriends, considering that I turned him down when he asked me out."

"You haven't told Ron, I'm guessing." Selene predicted. "Or Harry. Penfriends are good to have, you can learn more about other Wizarding cultures through them, you can visit other places for reasons other than for just fun. And he's a world-famous international Quidditch player."

Ginny nodded. "Gosh, I am looking forward to this summer for once." She admitted. "Two other girls to talk to, not just a house full of guys and Mum, maybe Hermione for the last few weeks."

"I'm not going to sit for hours talking about boys Ginny." Hermione warned. "The only boy who shows any interest in me is Viktor, and that was never going to work. Anyway, you seem alright on your own, Michael Corner likes you, I think. And you have Selene."

Selene tried to disappear into the seat as Hermione said this. "Don't get me into this Hermione; the only piece of relationship advice anyone's going to get from me is to fall for someone who doesn't drive you nuts."

"And she's dating my brother, I want to hear nothing about anything regarding their relationship, what I have seen gives me evidence enough."

Ron walked in to catch the end of that comment, and he flopped down, completely disinterested in what they were saying. "Please don't say you're talking about… girly stuff."

The three girls all laughed at this. "Ronald, we are discussing relationships and how weird they are." Hermione explained, rolling her eyes. "We can switch to S.P.E.W. if you want."

Before Ron could make his decision, Harry walked back in, closely followed by the twins, who looked very happy. George practically bounced over to Hermione, sitting himself down on her right and leaning backwards, while Fred grinned and plonked himself down between Ginny and Selene in his euphoria. "Hello ladies." He greeted gleefully. "I believe we are ready to commence section 2 of operation Purple Cheesecake."

Indeed, the train was pulling into the platform, and everyone began to heave their trunks off the luggage rack, Selene passing Ginny's down as she was one of the tallest in the carriage. The corridor flooded with students, swapping addresses and phone numbers while they tried to push past the crowd to get onto the platform.

They waited until the noise had died down to emerge, Fred and George linking arms with Hermione and escorting her down, while Ron and Harry followed with Selene and Ginny. To any outsider, they looked like an incredibly dysfunctional family, complete with crazy cousins (Harry and Hermione) and amazing amounts of luggage and animals. Pigwidgeon kicked up a fuss when he was placed within even a slight proximity of Cress, who in turn was squawking at him. Hedwig was apparently 'too cool' to join in with this, turning her nose up and ignoring the bickering pair as their cages were jostled and jerked onto the platform. Crookshanks merely curled himself around Hermione's shoulders and tried to get some sleep.

"Malfoy's, twelve o'clock." Ginny whispered to George, who whipped round abruptly and took them on a much longer and less logical route through the crowds and towards the barrier. "Phew, lost them."

"Would your aunt and uncle be on the Platform Harry?" Selene asked tentatively, feeling brave enough to speak.

Harry laughed, without humour. "No way. They hate magic, won't go near it with a ten-foot barge pole. I think that's why they hate me so much."

Fred turned around briefly to wink at Selene, but his eyes widened. "Crap." He swore, tugging on Hermione's sleeve. "You said the spell would last for two hours, why is it wearing off?"

Pulling her hair into view, Selene could see that the tips were turning back to their normal brown colour. "You didn't cast it right then!" Hermione hissed. "You should have let me do it!"

"Nothing for it, we're going to have to make a break for it." George paled as he looked behind him again. "I think they've spotted us Fred. Plan B?"

"There is no Plan B!" Fred groaned, tugging at his hair. "I thought this was going to work, I even went into the bloody library to look at the theory behind it and-"

"Ahem." A cold voice coughed from behind the small group, making Selene's blood freeze. "May I ask you where you think you are going Selene?"

Her father glared at her and the Weasley's, grabbing Cress's cage from Ginny's arms without a second glance. "Selene, I believe I asked you a question." He repeated ominously, his eyes flicking over Harry for the barest of moments then going back to his daughter. "So?"

"I was…" Selene began, stepping away from the Weasley's but being held fast by Harry. "I was going nowhere Father, I was simply saying goodbye to my friends."

"Friends?" Lucius raised one pale eyebrow. "Your standards are low, aren't they Selene? Four Weasleys, a mudblood and Mr Harry Potter. Now come on girl, it's time we left. We are drawing attention to ourselves after all." Say goodbye _quickly_."

Ignoring the unspoken protests of Hermione and Fred, Selene turned around and lowered her voice. "It's okay, I'll try to persuade Mother, I promise. I'll write every single day, to all of you, and if you don't hear form me don't worry. Harry, please don't get into trouble. Ron, Ginny, don't kill Fred or George no matter how stupid they're being. Hermione, S.P.E.W. is important, don't listen to what anyone says. George, try using the Notice-Me-Not charm on the Extendable Ears. Fred…"

She took a deep breath, being fully aware that her father was standing, incredibly angry, less than two metres away from her, watching her every move. But before she could make an educated decision on what she was potentially doing, Selene reached forward and grabbed the collar of Fred's shirt, pressing her lips to his in a kiss that was both sweet and hard at the same time, letting her mind get lost in him.

When she pulled away, tears were streaming down her face and she could barely see Fred's face. Selene took the trunk that George offered, hugging him for a split second before brushing the tears away and turning to face her father.

**Oh god, I'm so sorry Selene! I wanted to let you get to The Burrow safely, but I have plot detail I want to use! I am so sorry! FORGIVE ME! (This applies to everyone else too, FORGIVE ME! PLEASE!)**

** Oh. Are you okay with what I did? Bit of suspense? **

** I'm SO SORRY!**

** Eleanor xxx (Who is going to go and cry a river for you guys.)**


	32. Chapter 31: My Love, My Way

**Hello again,**

**This is a shorter chapter, but it's like the prologue to the summer, if you like, so it doesn't have to be long. Thanks to Daizychains123, MysteriousMindBlockedHeart, bellatrixD, Gurl5678, and Charlyxx. **

**As always, review!**

* * *

Part 2: Forgivingly

* * *

"The fight of our lives have been drawn to this undying love" - Viva La Gloria by Greenday

* * *

Chapter 31: My Love, My Way

I will always love Fred Weasley.

No matter how much time passes, no matter what happens to me, or him, or the Wizarding World, I will always love him.

Regrets, certainly. I have an abundance of them. They are like the oxygen I breath. I wish I had made enough fuss to be sent to Hogwarts to begin with. I wish I had been more daring to the Sorting Hat, getting it to place me in Gryffindor. I wish I hadn't wasted three years procrastinating when Fred was always in the background. I wish I had made Fred see me as a person to begin with. I wish I was braver, smarter, more cunning, kinder.

And I wish letters were easy to write.

What can I say that won't alarm them? Oh, hey Harry, hope your aunt and uncle are treating you alright, because my father is cutting me dead and it hurts me so damn much. Hermione, how are you getting along? I'm under house arrest so I can't relate to you. Hello Ginny, I hope Fred isn't annoying you too much even though I can't kill him from the Manor. George, I wish I could help you but I can't because I have to wear makeup and pretty dresses for Mother. Fred (aka Bacon), I miss you more than I can say and I'm scared that Mother didn't listen to my letter.

Oh yes, great words. That'll make them happy alright.

I sighed and set down my pen, looking out of my glass doors, holding my head in one hand, resting my elbow on my desk. The curtains are green and silver; the amendments have never been made to my room.

The grounds of Malfoy Manor stretch for miles, the sun rising above the hills in the far distance. The Cotswolds?

I leaned against the frame of the glass doors, gently creaking one open to let in the cool morning air. If I closed my eyes then I could visualise the Weasley's sitting around their kitchen table, Mrs Weasley whacking George with the nearest heavy cooking instrument as he makes a dirty joke, Fred laughing with Ginny at the look on Percy's face when he realises that they put salt in his porridge, Ron and Hermione poring over Harry's latest letter and helping themselves to toast.

In my imagination, they didn't have to be worrying about me, for which I was devoutly grateful.

I turned back to my letters, sitting back down on my simple wood desk chair and holding the newest up to the sunrise, blowing on it softly to dry the ink.

It wasn't to Fred, or George, or Hermione, or even Ron.

_Dear Fleur,_

_ I am so glad Gabrielle has found a new hobby, and tell her congratulations from me on her ballet exam. _

_ Everything's okay over here in England, Draco is talking to me again, which is an improvement. I've completed my Charms homework and I've started working on some more spells from the book Professor Flitwick gave me. How are your studies going?_

_ I'm sorry, but opportunities to visit are pretty thin on the ground, to be honest. But please thank your parents for their offer, and tell them I'm hoping to visit you when I have finished school next year._

I had left off there, at that almost-lie. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I'd even make it to my seventh year at that moment.

Another small scrap of parchment caught my attention, neatly folded up on the leftmost corner of my desk, right on top of _The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 6_. I sighed again, picking it up and unfolding it, being careful to not to crease it further.

_Selene,_

_ We are sorry that we had to leave without saying goodbye, but our schedules are incredibly busy. We did drop in on you before we left but you were asleep and we didn't want to wake you._

_ Fleur has always cited you as her best friend, and she was incredibly happy when she discovered that the Triwizard Tournament would be held at Hogwarts this year. We are very glad that you two are now back in regular contact again. You are definitely our favourite of all of her friends._

_ Remember, if you ever in need of somewhere to go, even in the weirdest or darkest of times, we will be here for you._

_ Robert and Apolline Delacour_

They were so kind, I thought, as I replaced the letter in its former place.

I closed my eyes yet again, wanting to feel a sense of detachment from the real world. I didn't want to be here, in my green and silver bedroom, with only a few treasured pictures and memories. Wishing would do me no good though.

When the old grandfather clock struck seven, I rose as if on puppet strings, walking over to my bedroom door and opening it. The hall was quiet and dark.

"Selene." Draco greeted, slouching on the frame of his bedroom door. "Good morning."

"Good morning." I repeated, reaching up to let the first trickle of light bleed through a gap in the curtains. "Did you sleep well Draco?"

"Very well thank you." Draco nodded, in a tone that made my hair curl. It was too cordial, too polite for siblings that had helped each other through thick and thin. "Nott has written me a letter, asking me to ask you whether you have been writing to that Weasley boy."

I shook my head, accustomed to the lie. What I wrote to Fred was going to stay private, even if Nott thought he should be privy to every secret I owned. "No Draco. Please write him back soon to tell him that. Is your suit ready for the ball this evening?"

"Your ball." Draco amended carelessly, and I froze. "Your engagement ball. You do know that, right? Your engagement ball." He repeated mindlessly, smirking. "Yours. You can't get out of it that easily."

I ignored his casual innuendo and chose to instead examine the view from this direction, knowing that the sea wasn't a million miles away. "I do know that Draco." I reply calmly, clenching my fists. "Mother has been reminding me of that this past week."

His tone changed, it became slightly more desperate and had an undertone of sadness. "I know you too well 'Lene. If you were going to leave you would do it when everyone would be preoccupied, and what better time than tonight?"

"Maybe you should be the Ravenclaw Draco." I couldn't meet his gaze, because what he said was all too true. When he used my nickname, my whole mind just… collapsed momentarily. The way Nott looked at me, it was too painful. He didn't love me, he just wanted my money. I wished, and not for the first time, that I was the youngest, and Draco was going to inherit the estate, not me. Then I could leave without feeling so guilty.

"Selene? Draco?" Mother called from downstairs, and Draco stood up straight. "Are you two okay?"

"We're fine thank you Mother." I called down, moving over to the other pair of curtains and pulling them apart. "And you?"

She didn't reply as Draco began to walk down the huge staircase. I followed him, being careful not to trip up on the third step down – that was the death trap for me. When I came close enough to the front hall I could see the pale blonde hair of my mother and the piercing grey eyes of my father waiting for me.

When I was younger, all I wanted was to have beautiful blonde hair like Mother. Sometimes people would become convinced that I had a different father, but everyone that said that disappeared soon enough. It was evident that I was the daughter of Narcissa Malfoy though; we shared the same bright blue eyes.

But no, I had to look somewhat different, didn't I? Inside and out, I was different.

"Selene." Father acknowledged, and I started. That was the first word he'd said to me all summer. "I wish to speak with you, in my study."

"Yes Father." I said, startled but remembering my place. I followed him into his study on the other side of the front hall, a room I had never been permitted to enter when I was younger.

There was a fireplace in the centre of the far wall, the same one that he used to send Floo messages on. His armchair was pulled up close to it, even though the fire was out. His desk was covered in official-looking papers that made no sense, considering that he had lost his position as governor of Hogwarts two years ago. Father sat down in the armchair that was pulled up to the fire, gesturing for me to sit opposite him.

"Tonight is your engagement ball." He began in a serious tone, and my mind flashed back to the House talk without warning. "I expect perfect decorum, grace and poise at all times, do you hear me?" His lip curled, and I knew that he was thinking about the scene at Platform 9 and ¾.

"Crystal, Father." I nodded, feeling my attention drift to the window. "Decorum, grace and poise."

"That isn't the point." He snapped, drawing my attention back to him. "That… that Weasley boy, your sights are set much higher than him, do you hear me? Everyone has flings, so I am not unduly worried, but if I hear one thing about that Weasley boy, then you will regret the day you met him."

I shivered at the words, but I nodded wordlessly, not trusting myself to speak. If I did then I would surely scream. Why, why, why? Why must he fail to understand?


	33. Chapter 32: Crimson Stained Dress

**Thank you to Daizychains123, Charlyxx, zZhell-butterflyZz, Perry The Canary, MysteriousMindBlockedHeart (x2!), sopranolife, Gurl5678, HT188 and MarineAstriella!**

**99 reviews so far! Thank you all so much! Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Because the hardest part of this is leaving you." - Cancer by My Chemical Romance

* * *

Chapter 32: Crimson Stained Dress

She was surrounded by the ghosts of her past, but she had never felt less like herself. When she looked in the mirror, she couldn't see the girl that spent long hours in the library poring over centuries-old books, she couldn't see the girl that stayed up all night worrying over her O.W.L. results, she couldn't see the girl that had an insurmountable amount of friends, and she definitely couldn't see the girl that was in love with someone.

It was hard to think that the plan had only fallen apart all of a week ago. Not much time had fallen past her yet, but it felt like too much.

Someone knocked lightly on the door of her bedroom, and Selene jumped, tripping over the hem of her dress in her haste to get to the door. She might look like the embodiment of propriety, but Selene felt like a caged animal.

"Selene?" Narcissa cracked open the door. "Are you in here?"

Selene didn't answer, as the answer was obvious. If she wasn't completely alone, if she had Fred with her (that would never happen, she reminded herself), then she would have made a sarcastic backchat, maybe a barbed comment.

Narcissa took one cautious step towards her daughter, but her attention was caught on a photograph precariously balanced on Selene's desk, right next to a half-written letter and a quill pen. The letter didn't interest her though; it was purely the photograph that she looked at in such reverence, almost amazement.

One of the people in the photo was unrecognisable, but the other figure was most definitely her daughter. The background was easy to pinpoint too, the Black Lake had played such an important part in Narcissa's early life that she could never forget it.

The other person, the one she didn't know, had bright red hair, too bright to be ginger, and was most definitely a Weasley. Even is she had never encountered this boy before, his freckled face was yet more evidence. This – the Weasley boy – boy had his arm draped around Selene's shoulders in an almost casual fashion, winking and grinning at the camera while Selene rolled her eyes at him and smiled in a much less vulgar way.

It was a moving photograph, like Narcissa would expect, and every so often the Weasley boy would send a dirty glance towards someone who was out of the frame. He and Selene looked like good friends, no more and no less.

Her unspoken question was answered as soon as Narcissa let her gaze drop to the letter, spying a corner of another photo poking out from underneath. This one was taken inside Hogwarts castle; that was obvious by the sea of red and gold ties and the casual backdrop of a stone wall. Selene was in this one too, apparently again next to the exact same boy as in the last one, but this time he had his arm around her waist and was kissing her cheek. It was almost like the boy in the first photo was completely different to the boy in the second, but they were identical down to the last freckle.

"Mother?" Selene hazarded warily, seeing her mother's preoccupation with the photographs. "Are you okay?"

Narcissa shook herself from her stupor. "Could you tell me who those boys are please Selene?" She asked her daughter slowly, trying not to sound too eager or too disinterested.

Taken aback at her mother's interest, Selene was silent fro a few seconds before finally beginning to explain. "The one that's taken outside was with George. George Weasley, I mean." She smiled down at the photograph, a smile that made her whole face light up. "That was taken by Colin Creevey, a really nice boy in Ginny's year. He took a whole bunch of photos for us; I think Allie had the rest though. Then the other one was with Fred."

The way she said Fred's name sparked something on Narcissa that made her question everything she was making her daughter live through. The letter, and now these photos and the way Selene just said Fred's name…

"Sit down Selene." Narcissa sat down on the very end of Selene's bed, patting the space to her immediate right. "Please."

Selene did as she was told, smoothing out the layers of the dress so they wouldn't get wrinkled as she sat.

"Tell me about your friends."

"Okay." Selene smiled again, biting her lip in the slightest of ways – Narcissa bit back the scolding that she would normally give for having such a habit. "There's Allie. Alicia Spinnet, she plays Chaser for Gryffindor. She's completely crazy, not bad crazy, just happy-go-lucky crazy. It's like having a human rabbit bouncing around all the time. Then there's Katie, she's girly and giggly like no one else I know, an utter romantic and one of the worst actresses I have ever met to the boot."

Narcissa sighed inwardly. She would have loved to have such… interesting friends when she was Selene's age. The way Selene talked about them suggested that she knew them quite well, which was surprising considering her daughter's shyness.

"She plays Chaser on the Gryffindor team too." Selene continued. "Angelina Johnson, Angie as we call her. She's Quidditch crazy, a Chaser too. It was a bit awkward with her to begin with but we're okay now, I guess. Um… that's George in the photo there, he's a total prat but he acts like an older brother, always bugging me to prank someone and telling me off for flirting when he's around. Hermione Granger, she's been almost like a sister to me over the past year. We met in the library, funnily enough."

"And Fred?" Narcissa prompted, cutting to the chase, the person that she really wanted to know about. "He's George's twin, if I remember rightly?"

As Narcissa watched, Selene's eyes lit up slightly, making them look an almost aquamarine blue colour. "Yes, he is." She murmured, smiling slightly and shaking her head. "Again, he can be a prat too, but an adorable prat. He's a prankster hands down, he can't stay away from Filch especially, but he hasn't made me prank him yet, for which I am very grateful. He also has no shame, but that…" Selene blushed crimson and shook her head again. "That doesn't matter."

During Selene's explanation, Narcissa regarded her carefully, trying to pick up on every little gesture that might tell her a little more about the nature of her relationship with this Weasley boy. When she called him a prat, she smiled and her eyes flipped to the left, looking at the picture that Narcissa had noticed earlier. And her blush, obviously Fred had changed Selene slightly. Maybe a lot, because even being able to insinuate something like that would have been beyond Selene's social capacities a while ago.

Narcissa patted Selene's knee slightly, smoothing the dark blue fabric under her hand. "They'll be arriving soon." She managed, not being able to meet her daughter's gaze. Had she made a mistake in asking?

She stood up, casting a careful gaze over Selene. Most of the guests would be wearing green, it being a mostly Slytherin community after all. Dark green, radioactive green, light green. None of them seemed to fit right on her daughter.

Maybe Narcissa had made mistakes that couldn't be taken back, but she hadn't made a mistake with this dress. Rather than any shade of green or silver under the sun, she had chosen a dark blue dress that vaguely reminded her of the sea under the night sky – where Lucius had proposed to her all those years ago. The moonlight from the double glass doors that led onto Selene's balcony glanced off the fabric, giving it a luminescent quality that simply couldn't be captured in words.

It was dangerous, letting her daughter wear blue, but it worked so well that Narcissa couldn't regret her decision at all. Selene would stand out, but it was her ball, so that didn't matter.

Narcissa left, brushing a few stray tears away from her eyes and unmistakably feeling like she was forcing her daughter into unhappiness. And having seen Selene in such conditions before, that would make this all the harder.

When her mother had left the room, Selene began to sob, huge, choking sobs that rid her of the little strength that she possessed, forcing her to lie backwards on her bed and letting the dress trickle into a pool of silk around her legs. Her feet hurt, from having to walk in high heeled shoes that were pointless, considering that Selene was already 5'9". Nott was going to be the short one, shoes or not.

Why had her mother even asked about her friends? Having to talk about them made her head hurt, her heart hurt like she was beyond repair. At this moment, Angelina was probably talking to her parents about something stupid the twins had done over the past year, laughing and smiling. Katie had already probably sneaked out to see Wood (Allie had a bet that they'd be dating within the confines of the summer). They were all free, not having the threat of marrying someone that wasn't Fred under their nose.

She could hear the front doors opening to admit the massive amounts of people that were liked by her family, mostly families that either supported Voldemort or were Death Eaters themselves. No one she actually liked, everyone she cared about was on the side she was on. In a nutshell, she was the only person that thought that killing was wrong, that muggle-borns were people themselves.

Selene moved like someone else was controlling her body and her movements, her mind devoted to thinking of things that would stop her from breaking down. Draco hardly glanced at her as they met at the top of the stairs, fiddling with his silver tie and looking out of the windows.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, and Selene jerked her head up. "I might not like Weasley one bit, but he makes you happy. Nott isn't someone I would be friends with, if I had any choice in that matter. And you have to marry him."

This old game again. "Well, you never know, you might have to marry Daphne." Selene joked feebly, managing a smile that wasn't 100% fake. Draco shuddered, and she giggled under her breath, but then a memory flashed across her vision and it almost turned into a sob. "I'll find a way."

"You always do." Draco added, wordlessly linking his arm with Selene's. "You look beautiful."

This time Selene did sob, but she held the tears in and forced a smile onto the confines of her face. "Thanks." She choked out, turning her gaze to the front and holding her breath.

She created a silent countdown in her mind, counting down the seconds until she had to fix herself up and be the girl her parents thought she was.

3… George, face-palming over his Transfiguration homework and swearing that he was going to murder McGonagall.

2… Katie giggling behind her hand as Angie rolled her eyes and Hermione telling Harry that he needed to read _Hogwarts: A History_.

1… Fred laughing, Fred smiling his slightly lopsided grin, grabbing her waist and kissing her in full view of everyone in the Great Hall, just being there.

Selene took her first step and already her perfect exterior was cracking like plastic, already fragile but having that extra push that it needed to break. Her eyes blurred with tears and she couldn't breath. The faces of the guests melded into one person's face.

Fred.

Was this goodbye, then? Was she going to go along with this charade, be the perfect pureblood daughter that she should be? Marry Nott; forget the boy she actually loved? Did she want this?

Everyone else was in green; it was a sea of green dresses and suits. Selene was the enigma, the bluebird among the chaffinches. It had been Hermione that taught her the names of the birds, Hermione that had given Fred what he needed to start it all off, Hermione that had alerted Selene to the fact that she was in love with him.

She couldn't do this, not ever. It would have been hard if she didn't have Fred, and now she did it was unbearable.

Nott walked up to her hand kissed her hand, and where his lips brushed her skin Selene shuddered. Lee did that, flirtatious Lee that had no shame and would flirt with any girl until the day he'd die, whether married, in a relationship or single. Not Theodore Nott.

Everyone clapped as he led Selene to the dance-floor, and it was all she could do not to scream. She couldn't dance, she had two left feet, but Fred understood that, it was Fred that had seduced her with a Weird Sister song and a stupid joke. They had danced that night like it was purely them, no one else.

Within seconds, Nott was wincing like he was walking on glass. Selene couldn't find it in herself to apologise, which was good because if she opened her mouth she'd start crying.

George would be wetting himself if he were here, watching Selene try to attempt some grace with a guy about five inches shorter than her, waltzing to a song that sounded a bit too Muggle. Actually, he would die of laughter, the git. Anything humiliating that wasn't at his expense was fuel to his fire.

"What's so funny?" Nott queried as he twirled her around, gamely ignoring her trip. "Do I amuse you?"

Selene shook her head, realising now that a real smile might have broken onto her face. "It is no matter." She managed, shaking he head in as graceful a way as she could manage. "It wasn't you, I was just… thinking."

That word made her think of Katie, of her giggling days and the days when she would face-palm at anyone and everything she saw.

Red and gold…

_"Selene, you still have this?" Fred holds up his old scarf that I keep folded up on top of my favourite books. "Really?"_

_ I blush, and nod, sitting up again. "Why are you even looking at my bookshelf Freddie? Since when do you read?"_

_ "Don't call me Freddie!" He complains, throwing the nearest thing to hand at me, which just so happens to be the scarf itself. "And I was being nosy, okay? I'm allowed to be nosy sometimes, aren't I?"_

_ Rolling my eyes, I immerse myself in my book again, ignoring Fred's little exclamations of surprise as he pokes through my books. I wrap the scarf around my neck, even though it's the middle of June and a warm day. _

_ "You like that, don't you?" I jump, falling off my bed in the process. Fred grins, extending a hand to help me up. "Clumsy Ravenclaw."_

_ "And what is wrong with that?" I attempt to say in a snotty voice, but it cracks halfway through and I succumb to giggles. "Shut up, egoistical Gryffindor."_

_ Fred bows, letting go of my hand for a second then pushing me over onto the bed, landing on top of me with an 'oof' sound. If this was anyone else, this situation would be awkward at best, but it's Fred, so it just feels stupid._

_ He grins down at me, our faces less than an inch apart, and I can feel my face heating up again. "Aww… You're blushing…" Fred smirks, reaching up to pinch my cheek. "You're so cute when you blush…"_

_ "What the-" _

_ Someone's walked in, and Fred stumbles backwards like I've slapped him round the face. Cho stands in the doorway, silently incredulous. She is bright red too, but she's grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "Okay, I understand." She continues, smirking. "I'll leave you two lovebirds to your… activities then."_

_ "Cho, no, it's not what it looked like!"_

The music stopped. Nott bowed deeply, as was expected, once again grasping Selene's hand and kissing it, but then he raised his fingers to her cheek and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, a disturbing smile on his face.

Selene shivered again, but forced a smile, moving away from Nott as fast as her heels would allow. No one bothered her in her flight; they were all too busy discussing more important matters, or at least things that they would understand.

Backing away, Selene fumbled for the door handle without looking at where her hands were fiddling, finally locating it and pushing it open, before slipping through the gap that she created and closing it behind her.

The night air was warm, and it was the night of the full moon. But instead of thinking about Professor Lupin, or her godfather or the man that died, Selene ran across the lawn towards the only place that she could clearly think – the tree.

She was too afraid of heights to climb it, but she climbed it in spirit as she actually just rested her head against the rough bark, running her fingers up and down the back of one of the lower branches, the place that she had marked on the day that she had left for Beauxbatons, and then again the day she left for Hogwarts, Two days, that were the same but not the same. One day was devoid of hope, and the other felt so hopeful.

Tears began to trickle down her face, landing on the shiny material of the dress.

"What would they say?" Selene asked herself, trying to gather herself up.

_"Are you a witch or not? Just apperate, you're of age aren't you? Honestly."_

_ "Get me out of here Selene! Hermione's trying to make me do HOMEWORK!"_

_ "Uh… Selene? Can you hurry up and get here before the twins make me go mental?"_

_ "If you have a way out, USE IT! And remember to write, its hell with the Muggles."_

_ "Oh, Cheesecake, my lovely Cheesecake, Freddie darling is missing you. Please hurry up before I kill him."_

_ "Love, you're supposed to be clever."_

All of these thoughts flew through her mind, and Selene stood up. From the looks of things, no one was missing her. She just had to get out before that ring with the Nott crest of arms was forcefully slipped onto her finger, and she was shackled to Theodore forever.

She might have only been seventeen, but the only person for Selene would be Fred, forever. In less than a year he had changed her life for the better, and he was probably tearing himself apart right now, clubbing himself over the head with his broomstick.

No one noticed Selene as she stuck to the shadows, keeping her head down and trying to blend in as she desperately moved towards the staircase. They probably wouldn't care if they did notice, Selene was simply the heiress to the Malfoy fortune anyway, and if she didn't marry Theodore all the more for them.

"Where are you going?"

Selene jumped, whirling around in a clumsy spin that made her trip again and nearly face-plant the floor as the dress spun out around her in a mess of dark blue silk. "Where are you going?" Her mother repeated, her voice cracking in two as she saw the tear stains on Selene's face. "Selene, tell me, please."

Shaking her head, Selene took one step towards the staircase, but Narcissa caught her arm. "You can trust me Selene, please." She pleaded, scanning her face for any sign. "I'm… I'm your mother."

"I-I-I-I…" Selene stuttered, steeping further into the shadows. "I-I… I'm leaving."

She said the last two words with a sense of finality, knowing for sure that that was what she had to do. Only two hours ago had she told her mother about her friends, trusting her for the first time ever. And she had not asked after their blood status, she had simply listened. It was a first, and it had to be a last.

Narcissa let go of Selene's arm and sighed deeply, brushing her elegant fingers along the side of her face, but differently to the way Nott had moved her hair, it was a motion full of sorrow, and regret, and an awful finality that was not lost by either party. Narcissa had got her daughter through so much; she had always tried to be there – something she had not been able to do even for Draco. And now.

She didn't care anymore. Pulling her daughter into a hug, Narcissa felt the first tears of about ten years fall. Selene stood in shock for a few moments, before returning the embrace and resting her head on her mother's shoulder.

"Okay." Narcissa choked out, finally letting go. "Okay. But hurry."

Lips parting slightly, Selene gulped for air, trying to find something to say, anything. But the words would not come, only the tears. Now they looked more alike than other, the same face, the same eyes and the same tears, for the same reason.

"Hurry." Narcissa repeated, managing a smile through her tears. "I love you."

* * *

"FREDERICK GIDEON WEASLEY, YOU GET DOWN HERE!" Mrs Weasley yelled, waving her wooden spoon sword at the stairs.

The expected rumble of someone running echoed throughout the kitchen of The Burrow, and two freckled faces appeared right in front of Mrs Weasley, both grinning identical lopsided grins. "You called?" They chorused together.

"You stop that, right now!" Threatened Mrs Weasley, eyeing them both like a hawk. "Both of you! I only wanted Fred anyway. George, go on, off you go!"

"But Mum…" The one on the right groaned, begrudgingly trudging back up the stairs, for once not disapperating out. That was a blessing in itself.

Fred took a seat at the table, putting his feet on her newly cleaned table top. With one well-earned glare from his mother, he hastily took them off again.

Mrs Weasley's gaze softened slightly as she turned away from the pie she was slaving over and towards her son. "Have you heard from Selene lately dear?" She asked him lightly, trying not to sound as worried as she felt.

"This morning Mum." Fred rolled his eyes behind his mother's back – if she saw him do that to her he would be in trouble. "She thinks she might be able to get out tonight, if she's lucky."

"That's good dear." Mrs Weasley said airily, inwardly extremely relieved. From what she knew Selene was a lovely girl, nothing like the rest of the Malfoys at all. And the short time that she had met Selene had only confirmed that. She had been rather worried when everyone emerged from Platform 9 and ¾ either looking furious or upset, and Hermione had explained most of what had happened later that day (of course leaving out the kiss and Selene's obvious distress). "Now, it's high time you went to bed young man. No, no buts." For Fred had started to protest. "You might be of age, but I am still your mother. Do tell the others too dear?"

She went back to peeling the carrots, but this time her mind wasn't completely focussed on the task at hand. It had only been four days since her kids and Hermione had returned from Hogwarts, and she could tell that they weren't as happy as they perhaps should be.

Ginny was down, most likely due to her lack of female companionship, and Hermione had been driving Ronald bonkers, telling him over and over that her ought to do his homework. And Mrs Weasley knew for a fact that Fred was beating himself up over the fact that their little gaff had gone askew.

But that didn't mean that she regretted giving him and George that haircut.

There was a sharp crack form the front yard, and Mrs Weasley glanced up at the clock, thinking that Mr Weasley's had would have just changed to 'Home'. But it had stayed in exactly the same place. Who else would be calling at this hour?

Rinsing her hands quickly, Mrs Weasley squinted out into the darkness, trying to make sense of the person that was inevitably going to be out there. It wouldn't be Dumbledore; they weren't due to move to Grimmauld Place for another few days. Again, none of the other Order members would have a reason to visit this late; it was almost eleven at night.

"Who's there?" Mrs Weasley opened the front door, stepping out into the night.

"Mrs Weasley?" The figure that had obviously apperated here spoke, it was a familiar voice. "I… I'm sorry to bother you this late."

As soon as the visitor stepped forward into the light produced by the kitchen, Mrs Weasley's mothering instincts took over. "Oh, are you okay dear? Did you splinch on your way over here? Come on dear; let me take your bags. It's very late, all the others are hopefully asleep by now."

Clutching her arm, blood trickling down from an open gash and staining the fabric of her dress a crimson colour, Selene stepped into Mrs Weasley's open arms and felt her conscious mind slip away.

**I hope that was worth the wait, mes amigos!**

** Please review! Can I get to 100 reviews? I think so, because you are all amazing.**


	34. Chapter 33: Crazy Owls

**And… hello!**

**I am hyperactive! 129 reviews! I love you all!**

**So thanks to Eli Sepentard, Daizychains123, bellatrixD, HT188, The souless ones, sopranolife, MarineAstriella, Guest (x2!), sarahmichellegellarfan1 (x… 17!), Gurl5678, Charlyxx, MysteriousMindBlockedHeart and HarryCriesForDumbledore!**

**And as a special treat, you may get a reward today. Might do. I hope so, I think so. But please review!**

* * *

"If you stay with me girl we can rule the world." - Rule The World by Take That

* * *

Chapter 33: Crazy Owls

The least likely thing that Hermione would ever expect in the morning was to find an owl flapping its wings in her face, cawing and showing off.

"Aaarrgh!" She screamed, sitting bolt upright and scaring the bird over to the other side of Ginny's room. The owl hooted in an affronted manner, and if it could have rolled its eyes it would have.

Ginny looked around wildly for the source of the scare, her eyes resting on the tawny owl that was still grumping under her Holyhead Harpies poster. "Cress?" She asked sleepily; and stupidly as Selene's owl was vain enough to spot from a mile off. "What you doing here?" She yawned.

Already halfway into her jeans, Hermione tugged on her jumper and wrenched open the bedroom door, running downstairs at a tremendous speed. "Mrs Weasley?" Ginny could hear her asking. "Do you know why Cress is here?"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Ginny grumped, only pausing to pull on her dressing gown before walking down the stairs at a slightly more sedate pace. "What's the matter 'Mione?"

Mrs Weasley looked up from the pan of bacon that she was frying, gesturing to the girl sat at the table, opposite Percy. The pair were discussing something Ginny didn't really care about, but even if she did understand the topic, she was too busy celebrating inside her mind to listen.

"Selene!" She and Hermione squealed at the same time, and Selene looked up, a smile spreading over her pale face. Hermione got to her first, throwing her arms around the older girl.

Wincing, Selene grabbed her arm in pain as Hermione pulled away. "I'm fine. I just splinched, that's all." She explained, in response to the curious gazes of the three people in the kitchen.

"That was very irresponsible!" Percy reprimanded, his horn-rimmed glasses slipping off his nose. "Did you even pass your apparition test?"

"Yes, I did." Selene winced again in pain. "It was a mistake, everyone makes mistakes, right?"

Percy didn't answer, sniffing slightly. "Thanks for the breakfast Mother; I'm afraid I must go now." He said in a pompous tone, checking his watch. "It was nice to meet you Selene. Hermione, Ginevra."

When Percy was firmly out of earshot, Ginny burst into laughter. "I take it you didn't tell him that you were dating Fred then?" She guessed, imagining Percy's reaction when he did find out.

Shaking her head, Selene couldn't help but giggle slightly too. "I just said I was a friend of yours, Hermione, which isn't exactly a lie but isn't the absolute truth."

Mrs Weasley cut in here with three plates of bacon and eggs, pushing Selene's sleeve up and checking the wound. "It's healing nicely dear." She pronounced, with a smile. "Do eat something, get your strength back."

There was silence for a little while, except for the sounds of cutting bacon and scraping forks, until Ginny piped up. "You know." She thought aloud, swallowing her mouthful after a sharp glare from her mother. "I think I have an excellent idea. We're probably the first down, apart from Percy." When she said her older brother's name her nose wrinkled slightly. "Your crazy owl woke us up."

"Cress?" Selene started. "Rowena, I'm so sorry! She's a bit high-strung sometimes. Wakes people up to get them to look at her." She began to stand up, but Ginny pushed her back down with a wicked grin.

"No, don't get her yet." She bit off a piece of bacon a chewed somewhat thoughtfully. "The twins have been driving me crazy so far this holiday; I think it's time for them to get their comeuppance."

Both Hermione and Selene were puzzled at this. "What ever do you mean Ginny?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows somewhere in her hairline.

Ginny held up one finger, finishing her eggs. "Mum, I'm just going to go wake the boys!" She spoke up, and Mrs Weasley looked up from her bacon frying.

"Thanks Ginny, but I wouldn't be surprised if Fred and Ron are awake already, them too can smell bacon from a mile away." She shook her head, he red hair bouning slightly with the motion. "I'm going to put Selene with you and Hermione for the next couple of days, okay?"

"Sure." Ginny ran up to her mother and pecked her on the cheek. "We can take your bags up now Selene, where are they?"

It took a little longer than normal to trudge back up the staircase armed with Selene's bags and Cress's cage, Hermione graciously taking the bag filled with all of her school books, knowing that Selene could very easily re-open her wound if she took too much weight.

Dumping the stuff in one corner of Ginny's room, Cress flew into her cage, eagerly beginning to nibble on a few owl treats as they carried her back out into the hall.

It was easy to tell which door led to Fred and George's room, as it flashed different colours and had black soot marks streaked on the bottom of it. Ginny pressed one ear to the door, listening for something.

"George snores." She explained with another wicked grin. "This will make it all the more fun."

Ginny produced one of her socks from her pocket. "Why do you have a sock in your pocket?" Hermione asked in exasperation, rolling her eyes like she knew what was coming.

Shrugging, Ginny placed the hand that was not holding Cress's cage on the door handle cautiously, evidently expecting it to scream at her or something. With the twins, you could take no risks. "Should we really do this?" Hermione thought aloud anxiously, looking around. "I mean, they are the pranksters, isn't it a bit…"

"A bit what? Awesome?" Ginny asked, shaking her head. "Lighten up 'Mione, it's just a little trick to welcome Selene here."

"Um… thanks, I think." Selene blushed, but Hermione glared at her. "Are you sure it'll work, they must be quite wise to these things after all."

Evidently bored with the current conversation, Ginny creaked open the door, sighing in relief when no traps were set off. She beckoned Selene and Hermione in, leaving the door open (for a quick escape, she explained quietly).

Cress hooted, but George continued snoring. Selene had to hold in her giggling, he sounded a bit like a Hippogriff. How did Fred put up with his snoring?

Ginny opened the cage door, and as expected, Cress flew straight to the nearest sleeping person – who just happened to be Fred.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!" He screamed, and Ginny darted forward quickly to stuff her sock in George's open mouth.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" She yelled, grabbing Selene's non-injured arm and Hermione's hand and tugging them down the stairs. They ran through the kitchen, past an extremely confused Mrs Weasley, and out into the back yard, scattering the chickens in their flight.

They slowed down enough to catch their breath, but only succeeded in succumbing to manic laughter. Even Hermione had tears rolling down her face as George and Fred tried to work out what the hell was going on. "He screams like a girl!" She giggled behind her hand, as someone swore loudly from inside the house.

"LANGUAGE!" Mrs Weasley yelled upstairs, and Ginny collapsed on the ground.

"What was that Mum?" George asked, apparently the twins had made it downstairs by now.

"Ask your sister." Mrs Weasley said wisely, and the twins walked out into the back yard.

Selene made to stand up, but Ginny pushed her back down again, shaking her head and controlling her laughter. "Hello boys." She giggled. "I never knew that you liked eating my socks Georgie."

"So that was you." Even from around the corner, Selene could hear him rolling his eyes. "Original. Well done Ginny."

"I had an owl let loose on me." Fred added, shaking his head. "An evil owl that tried to eat my face. And it's taken up residence in my hair."

Selene snorted at the mental image, and Ginny shot them a second's worth of glare. But it was too late. "Who's back there Ginny?" George asked her, peering around the corner, but his view was blocked by his little sister. "Who else would be crazy enough to prank us at eight in the morning?"

"It can wait Georgie, there's bacon." Fred protested, and Cress let out a hoot that sent Hermione and Selene into muffled laughter again.

"No, this is better than bacon." Ginny smirked. "Bacon."

Cress hooted again, taking off from Fred's head and flying upwards, back towards Ginny's room, probably bored of this petty human discussion. "Okay, but make it quick." Fred groaned.

"Come out girls." Ginny smirked again, shaking her head.

Hermione walked out first, shoving Selene behind her, which was frankly useless considering that Selene was taller than her. George's jaw dropped.

"Um… hi?" Selene hazarded, going pink.

None of them said anything, and Ginny wordlessly backed away, Hermione sticking close to her. Fred blinked, his hand automatically going to his hair, which was messed up from where Cress had sat on it. George's jaw just about dropped off.

"When did you get here?" George asked eventually.

"Last night." Selene went a deeper colour and mumbled something under her breath that no one heard.

"Are you two going to say anything, or are you just going to stand there for the next few years?" Ginny asked, getting bored of their silence and stillness.

Fred jumped, like he had been off in dreamland while most of Selene and George's short exchange had been going on. "Selene?"

"Fred." Selene bit her lip, looking up at the sky. "Oh this is slightly awkward." She murmured.

Neither of them knew quite what to say to one another, and Ginny sighed deeply. They were the weirdest couple she knew, snogging one day, awkwardly trying to talk to one another the next. "Just snog and get over it!" She exploded, rolling her eyes.

"Um…" Looking at Fred again, Selene closed her eyes and tried to pretend that Ginny wasn't there at that precise moment. "I missed you."

"Good." Fred said in a monotone, and Selene opened her eyes again, slightly surprised. He was smirking again. "I missed you too."

Finally, the thing that Selene hadn't been able to place her finger on before sprang to the forefront of her mind as she looked from Fred, to George, and back again. "You cut your hair."

George rolled his eyes. "Well done." He said dryly. "But of course it was our mother, if you let witless over there cut his own hair then he would probably end up bald."

"Oi." Complained Fred. "Yeah, the moment we walked in Mum sat us down and told us that 'we were going to get a proper haircut'." He scowled. "Bloody woman, honestly. My hair was fine."

Forgetting the whole ego issue, Selene smiled at him. "I like it." She said, ignoring the facial expressions of Ginny and Hermione (who were obviously trying to make her laugh). "It's um… cool?"

"She thinks it's cool!" Fred grinned, stepping towards her. "Come here."

Selene basically threw her arms around him, torn between laughing and crying, forgetting that they were standing in the middle of the Burrow's back yard, both in pyjamas, surrounded by people who generally never put up with any of their couply stuff, with Mrs Weasley probably spying on them through the kitchen window. She compromised on a choked sob, burying her head into his shoulder.

It was slightly strange that she'd never explicitly noticed before, but he always smelled of vanilla and gunpowder. And the way he crushed the living hell out of her made her feel safer than she ever had in her whole life.

"Ahem." Ginny coughed, and they were jolted back with an unpleasant thump to the present. "You are both wearing pyjamas, hugging each other at eight in the morning in the back yard of our house. And there's bacon."

"Bacon!" Fred grinned, pulling away and kissing Selene on the cheek. "My nickname. So come on Cheesecake, come and eat some bacon with… er… Bacon."

Mrs Weasley glanced up when they re-entered the kitchen, shaking her head at her son's strangeness. "Freddie dear, is Ron awake yet?" She asked, looking up at her clock – a force of habit. "I haven't heard him yet and its bacon, he won't want to miss it."

Fred shrugged, wrapping his arm slightly tighter around Selene's waist. "I would think so, what with all that yelling." He began to manoeuvre Selene up the stairs, ignoring his mother's curious glance.

"What happened to the bacon?" Selene asked him, shocked.

He shrugged again, ducking under a photo frame that nearly whacked him. "I want to show you this first."

Selene had really changed Fred, Mrs Weasley thought as they disappeared up the stairs. Only last year would he have put bacon before everything else, maybe even his pranks.

Flicking on the light-switch, Fred spread his arms wide in a 'Well-It's-Awesome-Isn't-It?' motion, grinning at his girlfriend so wide that it looked painful. "Well?" He prompted, looking around at the organised mess that was his and George's room.

"Wow."

What Selene had been unable to see before, due to the absence of any light, was that they had pushed their beds up against the back wall, and there was absolutely no free floor space. You couldn't see the floorboards for purple order forms and empty cardboard boxes, and they had a cauldron in the back left corner.

Fred took a few steps in, pushing some brightly coloured sweets to one side and clearing a space on the floor. "It's a bit of a mess, of course. What else do you expect? Mum hasn't seen this yet, she'll probably kill us. Try this." He threw what looked like a custard cream over to Selene, who caught it in her hand.

"Why?" She asked curiously, not trusting the biscuit for one second. "What does it do to you?"

Waving a hand airily, Fred shrugged. "Oh, it turns you into a canary. No big deal, really. Now these are our babies."

He produced a brightly coloured box entitled 'Skiving Snackboxes' from among the clutter. "We haven't perfected them, of course. But there's Nosebleed Nougat, Puking Pastilles, Fever Fudge and Fainting Fancies."

"What's wrong with them?" Selene queried, picking up one of the sweets and examining it closely.

Fred ran a hand through his red hair. "Well, the Nosebleed Nougat antidote doesn't actually work; you just keep bleeding until you shrivel up. George says he's got one that'll work though; we're going to try that out today. I don't know what happens if you try the rest, we haven't got around to that yet."

"You could try using a little powdered bicorn." Selene suggested, putting the sweet down with a little grin. "That normally works as a gluing agent; that might be what you want. But these are brilliant, honestly."

Going slightly pink, Fred grinned back at her. "Glad to hear that love. I'll try the bicorn if George is wrong, which he probably is."

It suddenly occurred to Selene that she was still in her pyjamas, which quite embarrassingly bore the legend of 'The Beatles', a Muggle band that Hermione had managed to introduce Selene to a while ago. Fred was in his pyjamas too, but they were bright orange and stripy to boot. He obviously didn't care, but Selene was slightly shyer.

"I… need to go and… change." Selene explained suddenly, gesturing down to her pyjamas. "Um… yeah."

She could feel her face flushing up as Fred regarded her t-shirt with interest. "The Beatles?" He read out, shaking his head. "Granger again, I suppose."

"What?" Selene complained; her brow furrowing. "I like them. They are amazing; I'll have to show you sometime. Just because I'm pureblood doesn't mean that I can't like Muggle music!"

"Never said you couldn't love." Fred smiled, reaching forward to peck Selene on the cheek. "And I'd like that. Most definitely."

Selene dressed quickly, hardly pausing to check what she was actually putting on, pulling her sleeves down to cover up the wound in her upper arm, ignoring the pain she got from the fabric dragging against the flesh. It hurt, sure, but she didn't want Fred worrying about her too much.

When she came back downstairs, Ron was finally awake and tucking into a huge plate piled high with bacon. His eyes widened when he spotted Selene, and he tried to mumble something through his mouthful.

"What arb yob dobing here?" He tried to say, ignoring the look his mother gave him. "Sorry, what are you doing here?" He repeated.

"Turned up last night Ronald." His mother explained, levitating the dirty plates off the table and beginning to magically wash them. "Now, chores."

All the Weasleys groaned in tandem, with Selene and Hermione more interested than annoyed. "Fred, George, de-gnoming. Ron and Ginny, if you two could feed the chickens and get everyone's washing together, then you can do your homework. No buts!" Mrs Weasley re-iterated, seeing the resigned look on Ron and Ginny's faces. "Selene, Hermione, I have some Floo calls I need to make, so could you take over lunch for a while?"

She patted Hermione's cheek and hugged Selene, before walking into the living room, accompanied by the Floo Powder bowl. Hermione stepped over towards the potatoes, easily picking up the potato peeler and beginning to peel them.

Selene continued to roll out the pastry that Mrs Weasley had left, remembering the way Dobby used to do it back at the Manor. Roll, flip, roll, flip, bring together, roll.

"We're not actually staying here for long." Hermione explained, already halfway through her first potato. Selene looked up from her rolling in surprise, and Hermione elaborated. "We're going to Grimmauld Place in a couple of days. That's Sirius's house."

"Oh." Selene remembered Grimmauld Place vaguely, visiting her aunt Walpurga before she died. "I've been there. He's my cousin after all."

"Really? What was it like?" She asked eagerly, almost cutting her thumb in her excitement. "It was the ancestral home of the Black family, wasn't it?"

Selene nodded. "And I'm a Black descendant, so it's my family home, kind of." She shivered, thinking of the coldness that was Grimmauld Place. "Poor Sirius, having to live there. It's not the nicest example of interior design ever, unfortunately."

Moving on to her next potato, Hermione decided to change the subject. "The boys want to play some Quidditch today, after lunch. You're Chaser, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I was reserve for two years." Selene explained. "My first match was against Gryffindor, funnily enough. You won, as I remember. Cho was pretty cut up over it."

Hermione allowed herself a little smile. "Well, I remember that you scored all three of those goals, so there's nothing to be ashamed about. I'll be scoring, I don't play Quidditch."

"It's not for everybody." Selene nodded, wiping her floury hands on her jeans. "I'm looking forward to Quidditch this year though, I'm going to make sure that we crush Gryffindor. Just to see the look on Fred's face."

They both laughed, and Hermione put down her potato. "After lunch then, we'll see who's the best. It's a shame Charlie can't come until next week, everyone says he was an excellent Seeker, just as good as Harry,"

"Charlie's coming back from Romania?" Selene had heard stories about the second-eldest Weasley from Dora, but she had never met him. "That's nice. I really want to meet him, I've heard enough from Dora and Hagrid, but it's not the same as actually meeting him."

"He seems nice enough." Hermione added. "He came over last year for the Quidditch World Cup too. Oh, you were there as well, weren't you?"

Selene rolled her eyes. "Forgotten already?" She teased lightly. "That wasn't my best day. I'd already had a tem minute lecture on why I wasn't allowed to talk to you guys, and then Mother wrestled me into that dress. At least Ireland won though."

"I think that was the first day we all properly noticed you." Hermione thought aloud. "Ron thought you were emo. After that… well I noticed you in Kings Cross, then we met up in the library and you helped me with my Charms work and got those badges sorted. Then you joined S.P.E.W. George sat next to you in DADA, and Fred was being a git towards you until I made him see logic and then he fell in love with you. Harry never disliked you, he was just a little wary and now I think he likes you."

"When you say it like that." Began Selene, giggling slightly. "When you say it like that, it sounds like a farce."

Hermione giggled too. "I guess."

Percy and Mr Weasley came home for lunch, accompanied by Bill, who had been working in England for the past few weeks.

When Percy found out that the quiet, responsible girl that he had met that morning was dating Fred, the brother that was his polar opposite, his reaction was as hilarious as expected. He choked on his pumpkin juice when he saw Fred kiss Selene on the cheek, before barrelling backwards into Bill and nearly getting personal with a bowl of mashed potato.

"You okay Perce?" Bill asked, picking his younger brother up again. "What happened to make you this jumpy?"

"Nothing, nothing." Percy replied, in a high pitched voice. "Would you like any help mother?"

Fred snorted as he realised what had been going on. "You didn't tell him?" He asked Selene, a glimmer of amusement in his brown eyes. "I take it he thought you were a demure, sweet, shy girl, with absolutely no links to the feared prank masters of Hogwarts."

Bill tapped Selene on the shoulder, making her jump and turn round. "Fleur says hi." He said, with a wink. "She really likes it over here, no matter how much she complains about the weather."

She put two and two together, clapping one hand over her mouth. "No. I am going to kill her." Selene blinked. "She said something about a guy, but she refused to tell me! I am going to kill her."

"So I'm not the only guy around here with a girl." Fred thought aloud, tapping his chin. "So you've been teaching her English? Is that all, really?"

Bill grinned suggestively; waggling his eyebrows much like Fred does, winking at Selene again before going through to the back garden. Fred and Selene shared an incredulous look before following him.

"Fleur didn't tell you a thing?" Fred asked, dropping Selene's hand as they neared the garden. "Absolutely nothing?"

Before Selene could answer, Bill raised his voice. "Quidditch! Come on, you all get your brooms!"

"I am going to thrash you." Selene smiled, elbowing Fred. "I've only played against you once before. I am going to win this time."

"Don't be so sure."

They ended up with six players, Bill, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny and Selene. George quickly grabbed Selene and Bill, leaving Fred, Ron and Ginny to make up the other team.

Because they were so close to the Muggle town of Ottery , they had to use apples instead of actual Quaffles, and trees as the scoring hoops. George and Fred kept trying to knock each other off their brooms, and it developed into more of a mid-air wrestling match than an actual Quidditch match, with Fred emerging victorious, but being quickly knocked off himself by Ginny.

The twins continued their wrestling on the ground, getting absolutely covered in leaves in the process, while Ginny and Selene ganged up on Ron and Bill, trying to knock them off too.

That tactic would have worked well if they weren't flying so near to the ground, as the twins jumped up and pulled them off, leaving Ron and Bill to have a fight to the death.

"Stop… tickling… me!" Ginny protested, giggling as George tickled her. "STOP IT GEORGE!"

Fred took Selene's waist and twirled her around, much like they had at the Yule Ball, but without the music and extra pressure. He purposely stuck out his leg so she would trip over it, but she managed to stay on her feet, for now.

"Fred, I hate you." Selene complained, as a flower petal fell on her nose. "I bloody hate you, and why are there flower petals on my face?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Fred replied airily, smirking at her before tripping over George, who was still tickling Ginny. They both landed on top of George and Ginny, much to their protests.

As George attempted to wiggle out from underneath his twin brother and his twin brother's girlfriend, Fred pressed his lips to Selene's ear.

"I love you." He whispered, pulling back to notice with satisfaction the blush that was sweeping across Selene's face.


	35. Chapter 34: Blood Of A Stranger

** Wooh! Double update! GO ME!**

** So, review! Tow updates in the space of 30 minutes, I need a breather. Please read my AN at the bottom so you don't get confused when I don't update for a while.**

** See ya later, cioazers!**

* * *

"Will you be the saviour of the broken, the beaten and the damned?" - Welcome To The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

* * *

Chapter 34: Blood Of A Stranger

Number 12, Grimmauld Place was just as dark and depressing as Selene remembered from her childhood.

Rising from between two other gloriously grim London town houses, the ancestral home of the Black family was not the nicest place to visit in the world.

Made of red brick, just like numbers 11 and 13, number 12 was possibly the darkest thing in Islington. There were black metal balconies visible from the front of the house, and the door was shabby and unused.

"There are blood wards on this house." Mad-Eye said, his magical eye whizzing around in his head. "So I'm afraid only purebloods can touch the front door. That means you, Miss Granger, will have to stand back."

Tonks turned to Selene with a little grin. "Go on, you go first. It is kind of your house after all." She pressed, gesturing to the front door. "You know, Black family, all that jazz. Go on, it won't bite you, at least I don't think it will."

Mad-Eye nodded, pushing Selene forward with one hand. "Go on girl." He said in a gruff voice, attempting something that might have been a smile but looked more like a grimace.

Stepping forward to the front door, followed behind by Mr and Mrs Weasley, Selene gingerly reached out one hand and touched the door handle, pressing it down with a sigh of relief.

"Go on." Mr Weasley said kindly, peering through the dark hallway. "Go in."

Selene half-expected the hall to start shouting at her as soon as she stepped inside, but the house remained deadly silent. As soon as she heard the door close behind them, she turned around as Tonks muttered "Lumos.".

Mr Weasley sidled past Selene with a muttered "Sorry." walking over to a door in the far wall and knocking on it a few times. "Sirius?" He called, waiting at the door.

"Dad's talking to a door now, he's gone barmy." Fred whispered, and even though the joke wasn't remotely funny Selene let out a nervous giggle. "Bit creepy, isn't it?"

"Well, that's to be expected, isn't it?" Tonks said cheerily, in her normal loudness of voice. "Been empty for years, Sirius only moved back in a couple of weeks ago."

"Keep your voice _down_ Tonks!" Mad-Eye muttered. "You of all people know why we don't want the portrait to wake up."

Tonks grumbled under her breath, but didn't say anything audibly as the far door opened.

Sirius Black, wrongly convicted criminal, emerged out of the room beyond the door, a bright smile spreading over his face as he saw the group clustered in the hall. "Arthur, good to see you." He greeted Mr Weasley first, before turning to the rest of them. "Ron, Hermione, good to see you both. Tonks, I hope your sister's not driving you mad."

"Oh, Lily's fine." Tonks said airily. "Bit preoccupied with OWLs of course."

Sirius grinned at the thought, moving his attention to the rest of them. "Molly, it'll be nice having someone who isn't Remus cooking around here. His pancakes are amazing, but everything else leaves a little to be desired."

At that point, Tonks chose to trip over an ugly umbrella stand in the shape of a troll's foot, creating a resounding thumping sound.

"FILTH! MUDBLOODS, BLOOD TRAITORS, SHAME OF MY FAMILY! NOT WORTHY OF THE BLACK NAME! SPAWN OF FILTH, PUREBLOODS BREEDING WITH MUDBLOODS! HALF-BREEDS, DISGUSTING-"

"Shut UP!" Someone silenced the screams, leaving the group in a frightened silence.

"Sorry." Mad-Eye glared at Tonks, who sheepishly picked up the umbrella stand. "Still haven't managed to get her down then?"

Sirius shook his head ruefully. "Probably a permanent sticking charm. Wouldn't put it past the old hag."

"You could try using a severing charm paired with a disintegrating charm?" Selene suggested quietly, speaking for the first time since she set foot in the house. "The severing charm would weaken it enough for the disintegrating charm to work?"

"Hmmm…" Mad-Eye thought aloud, his magical eye spinning to check on Sirius. "You're quite right. Clever idea, I doubt I could have come up with that."

Selene went a million different shade of red, and Sirius grinned. "Ha ha! Mad-Eye, you're one up! What's that now, 2 to you George, 1 to me, one to Mad-Eye here and Fred's still on nil?"

"Sirius, what have I told you about that?" Mrs Weasley asked, exasperated. "No… pranks or jokes please."

Professor Lupin walked down the staircase at that moment, nodding to Mr and Mrs Weasley. "Are you all okay?" He asked the group in general, who all nodded.

Mad-Eye grunted. "Would a severing charm and a disintegrating charm work on that old portrait Remus?" He asked, more like muttered, Lupin.

Thinking for a second or two, Lupin nodded. "That might work, but that portrait's pretty smart. Who came up with that idea?" His eyes scanned the group, trying to find Hermione, but she shook her head quickly.

"Young Miss Malfoy." Moody growled, his magical eye spinning around to look at Selene. "Very smart idea."

Lupin smiled at her. "Very right." He confirmed. Then his expression changed somewhat. "Aren't you the girl that had a bit of trouble with her boggart, a couple of years ago?"

"Well." Sirius cut in there, sensing that it would be a touchy subject. "Ginny, Hermione, Selene, you're on the first floor, only bedroom. Ron, you're on the second floor with Harry when he comes. Arthur, Molly, Fred and George, you're on the third."

Fred and George shared a look, before grinning broadly at each other and disappearing with a loud crack. "BOYS! HONESTLY!" Mrs Weasley yelled, shaking her head. "I'm ever so sorry Sirius, they haven't stopped doing that."

"It's no problem." Sirius insisted, not sounding worried at all. "Come on girls, Ron, I'll show you where you all are."

He began to lead them up the stairs, which were riddled with woodworm and smelled distinctly of damp. "Have you all been having a good summer?" He asked them, taking a few of Ginny's bags from her.

Hermione nodded, as Ginny was still a little reluctant to talk to Sirius, despite Dumbledore explaining it all to her personally, and Selene was still slightly pink. "Very good thank you. Selene turned up a couple of days ago, gave us all a shock."

"You haven't been with the Weasleys for the whole summer?" Sirius asked her, sounding shocked.

"No, I was at the Manor for a few days." Selene gave Hermione a look, asking her to explain it all for her.

Hermione nodded sadly. "Uh, her parents wanted her to marry Theodore Nott, you know, the son of old Mr Nott? She got out of it, of course, but we don't know what her parents are going to do about it."

"Good." Sirius barked, rather sharply. "The Notts are an old pureblood family, but if I have any choice in the matter I'd rather someone in my family marry a Weasley."

"Thanks Sirius." Selene smiled as they stopped outside the first bedroom.

Sirius gave her a kind grin, before turning to Ron and walking up to the next landing.

The bedroom that Hermione, Selene and Ginny would be occupying until they went back to school was coloured in green and silver, reminding Selene distinctly of her bedroom back at the Manor. It had a view of the other houses in the street and the park directly opposite.

Ginny grabbed the bed nearest the window, dumping her bags onto the bed before wrenching the window open with brute force. "Thank the Holy Hippogriffs." She breathed, breathing in the fresh air as the smell of mothballs went away.

Shrugging, Hermione took the bed in the middle, leaving Selene the one by the door. "This is… nice." She said simply, looking around at the bare green-coloured walls.

"Really?" Selene asked, placing her bags on her bed carefully and sitting down on the end of the bed. "It's a bit-"

"-Slytherin." Ginny supplied, nodding like she knew exactly what Selene meant.

There were two loud cracks and Ginny shrieked, toppling off the windowsill as someone landed on top of her.

"Hello ladies!" Fred and George greeted, bowing deeply.

"Fred!" Selene exclaimed, just as Ginny yelled "George!"

The twins shared a look. "Yes?" They asked innocently, smirking identical smirks. Ginny lobbed a pillow at Fred, thinking he was George.

"You wound me little sister, you wound me." Fred clutched his arm, pretending to be in immense pain. He got another pillow in the face as a response.

"Why are you in here?" Selene sighed, looking up at the twins in exasperation.

"Do I need an excuse to say hello to my lovely girlfriend?" George smirked, pulling Selene up by one hand.

"George…" Selene rolled her eyes. "I thought that was Angie, not me. Maybe I was mistaken?"

"Oooh, does Georgie have a little crush?" Ginny grinned mischievously, standing up. "On Angelina Johnson? I didn't know that."

Giving Selene an annoyed look, George pinched the bridge of his nose. "How do you even know that? I thought I only told… oh." He realised. "Fred, why did you tell her?"

"Who said I told her?" Fred walking over to stand next to his girlfriend. "She's clever enough to work it out on her own, I think. She's the one that worked out how to take the yelling painting down."

Selene ignored Fred, instead pulling out a letter from her pocket. "I got this on Monday." She explained, beginning to read it out loud.

_Dear Selene,_

_I hope your parents are treating you alright; and that you manage to escape soon._

_Mum's taking me to see the Harpies game against the Falcons next week! Yes, that isn't a lie. It's amazing, isn't it? I promise I will bring you back a poster or something, yes, I promise, even though I'm a Falcons girl._

_Can I ask you something? _

_If George says the thing that we discussed before the end of school, can you write and tell me? Thanks in advance._

_I have to go now, Allie's yelling for me downstairs, we're going to Diagon Alley to meet up with Katie and Oliver (I think she was onto something) today. _

_See ya,_

_Angie_

"The thing that we discussed before the end of school?" George asked, shaking his head. "That didn't help me at all. Fred told you, that's what I maintain."

"Yes, okay, maybe I did." Fred shrugged. "Doesn't change a thing. You still fancy Angelina Johnson George, I just told Selene that's all."

"So can you go now?' Ginny asked them, tapping her foot.

Fred and George looked at one another before begrudgingly nodding. "Okay." They said in tandem. George ruffled Ginny's hair before disappearing with another sharp crack, and Fred kissed Selene before vanishing in the same way as George.

"Let's talk about boys!" Ginny said excitedly, sitting down on her bed.

"I think I'll go and see if Mrs Weasley needs any help." Selene got up, trying to get outside the room but Ginny blocked her path.

"If you go then I'll tell Sirius that you have Fred's scarf somewhere in your masses of books and he'll never leave you alone." Ginny threatened, guessing from the five minutes of meeting him that he loved to wind up his much younger cousin.

"Urgh, okay then." Selene sat down again, making up a mental pact to scare Ginny as much as she could. "Boys then."

Hermione, surprisingly, actually didn't mind talking about boys at all. It probably was just an age thing, Selene thought to herself.

"Ron is so… annoying!" She complained, sitting in a pretzel shape and trying to sort out her books into height order. "He refuses to do his homework, it's a wonder how he'll ever get any OWLs, and I think he's had too much of a bad influence from Fred and George."

"He's got plenty of good influences too Hermione." Ginny reminded, and they dissolved into a very awkward silence.

Ginny was referring to Percy, who had fallen out with the family the night of Selene's first day with the Weasleys. He had been given a job as Junior Assitant to the Minister for Magic, a job that was probably given to him so he could spy on his family. Selene also had the niggling feeling that her father had a detrimental role in deciding this, so Percy could pass information to him about her. But what everyone agreed, except maybe Mrs Weasley, is that they were better off without him.

"So, Selene." Hermione broke the silence quickly, not wanting it to get too awkward to break. "I take it Fred tells you pretty much everything then?"

Ginny perked up too, as Selene groaned inwardly. There was no escaping this, unfortunately. "Not everything. But lots of things, yes. We both have secrets from each other, I wouldn't expect him to tell me everything."

"Selene, can I ask you something, if it isn't too personal?" Hermione queried carefully, watching the older girl bite her lip. "It's not really personal, it's just… a question."

Nodding, Selene looked out of the window at the darkening sky. "Yes, you can. It's okay, don't worry."

"Okay. You can see Thestrals, can't you?" Asked Hermione, treading gingerly. "Um… who did you see d-die?"

_It's a dark room._

_The only light comes from the moon that hangs in the sky, a million miles away. Everything seems a million miles away from here, everything is._

_There are two men, standing in the room, wands out and pointing right at me. I sob, knowing that they don't have long, not if they are here. The taller one sees I am just a little girl, and nudges the other, muttering something indistinguishable._

_I can't meet their eyes. I hang my head, not wanting to see their faces in the pale moonlight. It'll just make it harder for me._

_I know their names, their family, their ages. But I don't _know _them, not in the proper sense. And I'm wondering what I'm doing here, standing in a middle of a room, trying to find words that'll explain what will happen if they don't leave now. Because they have to leave now._

_ But what will happen if I warn them? Will they know? Will they kill me, too? I'm disposable, only here because my aunt thought it'd be 'educational' for me to see how they do it._

_How they kill people._

_Choking, I bury my head in my hands, silently willing my voice to speak, my mouth to work. I don't want to watch this; I don't want this to happen. I never wanted anything to happen to these two people. To no-one. No-one at all._

_But I'm just no-one; and no-one will listen to me. My mother will pretend, nod and stroke my hair as I cry. But it won't happen. She won't make it stop, however much I plead._

_The door thumps open and my heart stops, my breath catches in my throat. He's here. I didn't warn them. My stomach flops and I want nothing more than to just run, run until I'm home and there'll be chocolate brownies and warm hugs and no mention of what has happened here. I'll be safe._

_They're talking now, throwing insults backwards and forwards; like a malicious game of ping pong. My hands slowly rise to cover my ears; I want to drown them out, I want to be detached from this. I don't want to be here._

_Screaming. Unearthly screaming. I can't block it out – it's too real to be a dream. Tears pour down my face as I raise my eyes, willing myself to be strong, help those poor people, be the girl my mother believes I will become one day._

_Blood pours from the gash in his side, scarlet staining his shirt as the other stands, helplessly tied up in duelling one of my father's friends. I want to help, I have to, but my legs feel like lead weights and I'm numb to the core, watching the life drain out of this man, the man I failed to save._

_His face is gashed; his left cheek a bloody hole that gapes at me openly. His arm hangs awkwardly, crushed under the weight of a well-placed curse. I want to vomit, looking at the horrific injuries he's sustaining. But he's coping, somehow. He's doing better than I am, and I'm not covered in my own blood._

_He's dying. He knows that. He's done for. No way out._

_And as his final moment comes, his eyes find mine. I can feel myself screaming now, maybe I was always screaming. But his eyes aren't dark, aren't devoid of hope and light like so many others. They shine. They light up more than just the room, they light up me too. And they're so full of hope, and love, and pain, that I wonder who will miss him. Pitying eyes. Chocolate-brown eyes._

_"I forgive you." He mouths, and the light switches off._

_The other man, the exact model replica of the dead man screams, an unearthly scream that turns my blood to ice. "No!" He screams, and I'm shaking with tears as the man flops to the ground, blood pooling around him like a lake._

"_Get the girl." My father's friend growls, and someone seizes me by the arm and drags me forcefully over to the other man. "Good."_

_This time, I make the mistake of meeting the mirror man's eyes, but the mirror man's eyes are different. They are dark, like the black sky. They may have been light and shining once, but now they are just shadows._

"_Watch carefully girlie." My father's friend snarls, and I cannot look away. I have to look away, I have to I havetoihavetoihaveto._

"_PLEASE!" I scream, choking and sobbing on the simple word, feeling my body crumble away. But I find my feet and words again soon enough. "PLEASE, HE'S DONE NOTHING!"_

_My father's friend grabs me roughly, forcing me to look into his pale face. "You're asking me to save the life of this man girlie?" He snarls again showing his perfect white teeth. "Do you know who this man is?"_

_I nod, feeling helpless and strong at the same time. I need to save this man. I have to save this man._

"_Let her go." The mirror man snaps, holding his wand at my father's friend. "Let her go Dolohov."_

_Dolohov barks a laugh more terrifying than I have ever heard. "Brave words, but stupid ones. Do you know who this little girl is? Her father is here, after all."_

_Father steps forward, his wand raised. "Your twin is dead." He snaps, mainly to me. I cower away from him, willing for the shadows to swallow me. "What is my daughter to you?"_

"_Father, please!" I beg, feeling myself choke up again. _

_He ignores me – I am no one to him right now. "Answer me! Crucio!"_

_The mirror mans screams intermingle with mine as I close my eyes, shutting out the image of the mirror man gasping for breath, twitching on the floor in pain._

"Selene!" Hermione exclaimed as tears began to trickle down Selene's face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry, are you alright?"

Nodding, Selene brushed the tears off her cheeks. "I… I haven't told anyone this before, it's hard to form the words."

Ginny and Hermione both waited patiently for Selene to be able to say the words.

Finally, Selene took a deep breath and swallowed any doubts that she might have had. "It wasn't one person. It was two." She began, forcing the pictures of the dead out of her mind. "Brothers. Twins, even. Fabian and Gideon Prewett."

**Dun dun dun!**

**Who saw that coming? I've been dropping hints all over the place, honestly. **

**Well, that's all from me for a while. I'm going up north to Scarborough on Sunday, for a week then I'm at my Nana's for another few days, so as many reviews as possible please. I'm sorry to leave you all on such a massive cliffhanger.**

**So, this is me signing off,**

**Eleanor xxx**


	36. Chapter 35: Hey Jude

**I'M BACK! Did you miss me? Did you miss me? Did you miss me? (Sorry, couldn't resist that Sherlock reference!)**

**Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed over the past week during the time that I have gone AWOL and I assure you that my cliffhanger has been uncliffed!**

**Seriously, I've got about four more chapters ready to post when I feel like it.**

**Anyway, thank you to Wikked, sarahmichellegellarfan1 (x2!), Guest, Charlyxx (x2!), Gurl5678, HT118, MarineAstriella, Daizychains123, Schoolrumberjus, Blueberrytoast, BellatrixD and Guest. Take ten points each to whichever house you're in! (I'm a Ravenclaw!)**

**I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, and thank you for getting me past 90 follows! That means so much to me, thank you all.**

**I don't own The Beatles, the song or lyrics to Hey Jude, or indeed Harry Potter.**

* * *

"Take a sad song, and make it better." - Hey Jude by The Beatles

* * *

Chapter 35: Hey Jude

"WHERE IS SHE?" Lucius Malfoy yelled, thumping his fist down on the solid oak coffee table in anger. "TELL ME WHERE MY DAUGHTER IS!"

"Well you see…"

No one who had been at Theodore Nott and Selene Malfoy's engagement ball knew where the girl was. Not Yaxley, not Crabbe, not Goyle, not one person. The last anyone had seen of her was spotting her going outside right after her dance with her fiancé.

At least, he was damn well going to be her fiancé. Lucius couldn't have this… outright disregard for the rules he put in place.

"TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!" He threatened, clenching his fist. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!"

His wife placed a consoling hand on his arm, sending a glance his way. "He does not know Lucius. There is no point."

Lucius sighed, putting his head in his hands. "Get out of my sight." He snapped at the unfortunate man in front of him, who scurried off hastily.

"Maybe she doesn't want to be found Lucius." Narcissa tried to calm him, make him see sense. "You know how she loves that Weasley boy, maybe she's happier where she is."

"I REFUSE TO HAVE THAT WEASLEY BOY AS A SON IN LAW!" Yelled Lucius, almost snapping his cane. "I refuse." He repeated in a slightly calmer tone. "Draco, come here."

Draco moved away from the window and closer towards his father. "Yes Father." He said in a level tone, disguising his fear and annoyance.

"Do you know where your sister is?" He asked dangerously, tapping his cane in a careful fashion. "Do you have any idea why she would go on such an important night Draco?"

Hesitating for a split second, Draco nodded. "I know why she would leave on the night of her ball Father." He said, in a measured tone. "She was most against marrying N- Theodore Father."

"And why would that be?" Lucius snarled, closing his eyes. "Theodore is the best possible match for your sister Draco."

Draco swallowed, and his mother came to his rescue. "Lucius, she does not love him." Narcissa explained, resting her hand on top of her husbands. "Yes, most pureblood marriages are based upon wealth and status, not love, but if we managed it why not our daughter?"

"Don't you remember your aunt Cedrella Narcissa?" Lucius asked, shaking his head. "Your own sister Andromeda. If we do not stop Selene now then…"

He couldn't finish his sentence.

"She loves him Lucius." Narcissa said softly, stroking the back of his hand. "Maybe it would be good if we try to accept our daughter for who she is?"

"SHE WILL MARRY THEODORE NOTT, NOT SOME RED-HAIRED BLOOD TRAITOR!" Lucius yelled, making Narcissa leap backwards in surprise. "You would do good to remember that Narcissa, you too Draco."

Draco could brag about his family's wealth, his father's status in society and elevated rank amongst the Death Eaters, and it could all be true, but the one thing her couldn't say was that he was happy with it. His sister, the girl that had been there for him when his mother was too busy and his father didn't care, the girl that used to bandage Dobby's ears for him after he was made to iron them out, the girl that used to read thick, heavy-bound books under the trees in the grounds of the Manor, had chosen her Blood-Traitor boyfriend over him.

She had chosen her mud-blood friends over him. Salazar, she had even chosen Hermione Granger over her own brother. Selene had told him once that she could have been a Hufflepuff, but weren't Hufflepuffs meant to be loyal? She was no more a Hufflepuff than he was a Gryffindor.

And what if Selene had been a Gryffindor? Would they be standing here now?

Sometimes, 'what ifs' are all you can say.

* * *

Selene couldn't meet Mrs Weasley's gaze as she sat at the dining table in the basement kitchen of Grimmauld Place, Arithmancy graphs and sheets of complicated sums spread out around her.

"Take the square of the root and multiply it by the sum of the corners." Selene pondered aloud, making a few quick notes on a spare sheet of parchment. "Then add to the sum of the thirds of the pentagonal prism."

Taking a few more notes, Selene put her quill down and rested her head in her hands. Was it good that she had told Hermione and Ginny about Fabian and Gideon? The way they had looked at her, Ginny especially, it had made her heart snap in two. Now she couldn't look at Fred for fear of breaking down into tears, and she couldn't talk to Mrs Weasley she was so guilty.

And as much as she told herself that they were just two men, they weren't special and they didn't matter, the truth just leaked through the cracks and killed her inside. Because they were special and they did matter, what would Mrs Weasley say when she found out that her brothers were killed right in front of the girl she had so kindly taken in? What would Fred say when Selene admitted that she saw his uncle whenever she looked into his eyes?

It didn't matter that she didn't know before, she knew now and had not even thought of telling anyone else.

The truth is too painful for one person to bear; maybe Selene should make that her motto in life. But this truth was too painful for anyone to bear. Why should she tell him when it would just make it worse? Love wasn't about that.

She couldn't pretend to be an expert in love, but when you've found the one person that you will always love then you know enough. Love wasn't about making people worse with the truth; it was about being who you are for the people that you love. But she was different people for different people, and that didn't seem right somehow.

"Are you okay dear?" Mrs Weasley's voice broke into her daydream, and Selene started.

"Y- yes I'm fine." She said calmly, willing her voice to keep its level tone. "Just a bit stumped that's all."

Anyone that knew Selene well enough would know that one of the subjects she would never get stuck in was Arithmancy, but Mrs Weasley didn't know that. To her, Selene was just like Hermione. After all, she had only known her for a matter of weeks.

It's a common misconception that when two people have similar characteristics that they are exactly the same.

That isn't true.

Hermione had parents that would always love her, care for her, be there for her when everyone else was gone. She had bad memories, sure, but her friends were always in them, there to sort her out afterwards. She didn't need help with her life, because she had always known where she wanted to go.

Selene on the other hand… her parents loved her, but would they always be there? Her bad memories were things that she had to bare alone, things that she had taken for Draco. And her life was only an endless circle, with no stopping, no getting out.

God, was her life always going to be so… molecular? So stupid, they were all heading for death, Selene could see it in her mind's eye. Just by being around, she was bringing the Weasleys one step closer to death.

Ironic really, her lucky number had always been four, homophonous to the Chinese word for death. What else do you have to lose when you fall back on luck for support?

"Are you sure dear?" Mrs Weasley asked, and her voice was so kind that it was hard for Selene to keep it together. She wouldn't be kind if she _knew_.

Selene nodded, and relaxed as Mrs Weasley moved back to the stew again. The chopping stared up again, a consistent beat that soothed her.

There was always music to think of. Music. Music that wouldn't fit anywhere else, the song she danced to with Theodore Nott that night at the Manor, that Muggle song that was out of place in a pureblood gala. The song that would now haunt me for the rest of my life.

Did they even know what the lyrics meant? It was such a _hopeful _song, a song full of words that made Selene shiver by just thinking about them. It could be the song that saved her, maybe it was.

_Hey Jude, don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better._

Selene had done that. Taken a sad song and made it better. Taken the mess that had been her life and molded it beyond recognition. She hadn't been kidding when she said that she wanted to introduce Fred to The Beatles.

Her complex sum smudged a little and Selene wiped her cheek reflexively, not wanting Mrs Weasley to know that everything was not alright. Take a sad song and make it better.

Sometimes the wisest words of wisdom come from the people we least expect. The Beatles, Queen, Oasis. Not that Selene didn't expect to find wisdom within the songs she loved.

"Selene." Selene's head jerked up again, and she found herself looking into the eyes of her old Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. "I've found a Boggart in the drawing room. I was wondering if you would like to have a crack at it."

"Yes please." Selene nodded, moving to pack up her papers but Lupin placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Leave them alone, it won't be long." Professor Lupin smiled kindly at her, guiding her towards the drawing room without even a hand on her arm. Just with words. "I remember Arithmancy when I was at school, it doesn't look like it's got any easier."

Selene managed a smile. "It hasn't." She confirmed sheepishly. "I just... find it easy."

Lupin nodded at her words. "I was thinking you might like a shot at the Boggart, considering that you never got the chance back at Hogwarts. It'll be a good experience."

Sirius was waiting for them in the drawing room, next to a large writing desk that was shaking from side to side. "Selene!" He greeted happily, leaning against the writing desk. "How are you? Come to take a crack at this old thing?"

"Yes she has." Lupin answered for her quickly, moving closer to the cabinet. "Now, remember Selene, the incantation is _Riddikulus_, got that?"

Making a yapping face hand from behind Lupin, Sirius smirked at his cousin with vaguely concealed glee. "Let's see how you cope little cuz."

"I'm not little, I'm of age thank you." Selene amended, blinking at him. "And I have a boyfriend, which you didn't have at your age."

"I would hope not! I'm not gay!" Sirius exclaimed hotly, but then shook his head. "Nah, I'm just messing with you cuz. Calm down."

"Stand back." Lupin warned him, opening the doors of the cabinet.

For a few moments, Selene was left to wonder what her Boggart would be. Voldemort? Her father? Being alone? Heights? Her aunt? Or none of those things?

It was something much worse.

Opening her mouth to scream, Selene rocketed backwards from the body on the floor. She should have seen this coming. She should have seen this coming. The body… it stood for everything she was scared of. Not being able to save people, being helpless, terror, blinding panic, sadness, anger.

The body had a gash in its side and blood pouring out of a hole where his cheek should be. His red hair was matted with blood, but he was too tall, too broad-shouldered to be Fred or George. It was Fabian Prewett, Selene knew that with every fibre of her being. But his mirror image was next to him, covered in marks that unmistakably spoke of the Cruciatus Curse.

"R-Riddikulus!" She yelled, and the body changed and morphed into someone else, someone that made her body freeze in fear.

Draco, his blonde hair stained crimson with blood, a hole exploded in the top if his head. His grey eyes open and kept in a state of fear, his expression not peaceful, just terrified.

"R-R-R-Riddikulus!"

George, his throat torn out and a ghost of a last grin on his face.

Angelina, broken and bruised beyond recognition.

Hermione, her bushy brown hair singed and half of her body consumed by the same fiery blackness, turned into charcoal.

Cho, hung from the ceiling by her Ravenclaw tie and her eyes as black as the night.

Katie and Alicia, both killed in the same way – covered in cuts on their arms and legs. Katie giggling rung in her head, along with Alicia's eye rolls.

Then the body that made Selene scream again; a high, piercing scream that penetrated everybody that would hear it to the core. Fred.

"RIDDIKULUS!" Lupin yelled, and Fred's empty body changed into the moon, which Lupin dismissed with a simple wave of his wand. He surged forward towards Selene, digging in his robe pockets. "It's okay, it was just a Boggart."

"They were dead, they were all dead…" Selene murmured, curling up in the corner. "They were dead, they were all dead…"

"Who screamed?" Fred, George, Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Mrs Weasley appeared in the entrance to the drawing room. Lupin stood up, leaving Sirius to go to his cousin.

"Boggart." He said simply, letting his gaze waver over Fred, George and Hermione. "It… wasn't pretty. Molly, I need to talk to you for a moment."

"They were dead, they were all dead…" Selene repeated, covering her ears. "They were all dead Sirius, they were all dead."

Without so much as even looking at the others for confirmation, Fred ran over to where Selene was curled up in the corner. "Selene, love." He said to her, holding her head up with one hand.

"Y-y-you were dead, you were all dead." Selene stuttered, looking at him with big pain-filled blue eyes. "You all died, you, Draco, George, Hermione, Angie, Allie, Katie…" She trailed off, closing her eyes. "I saw him Fred."

"Saw who?" Fred asked carefully, half-knowing and half-unaware of what was coming next. "Selene, you can tell me."

Selene flicked her eyes over to Ginny and Hermione, who elected not to comment or look at each other. "I- I saw… I saw t-the man that died. The man I saw die."

Sirius's eyes widened as he worked out exactly what Selene meant. "No." He said incredulously. "T- they said no one else was there. There was no trace, apart from the five Death Eaters."

"Six." Selene amended, without thinking. "My father, he… he was there too. He just didn't get caught."

Fred looked from Sirius, to Selene, and back again as he tried to make sense of what they meant. "Selene, are you okay?" He asked cautiously as yet more tears fell down her face. "Selene, please, just tell me!"

He almost shouted the last words, and Selene sobbed, falling forwards onto him. "I-I'm sorry." She whispered, her voice hoarse from her screaming and crying.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, it wasn't your fault." Fred murmured into her ear, holding her like he'd never let her go.

"But there is." Selene whispered again, almost inaudibly and yet so loud that everyone in the drawing room heard it. "There's everything to be sorry about."

* * *

"Selene-" Hermione began but Selene held one hand up to silence her.

"I need to say this Hermione. You know, Ginny knows, everyone else has to know."

Mrs Weasley enveloped Selene into a hug before she could get any further. "Selene, whatever you are about to say, I will never think less of you." She insisted, letting her go after what seemed like an age.

But she would think less of Selene. It was too personal a matter for any loving mother to bypass, and she wasn't even Selene's mother. To her, Selene was just her son's girlfriend, just the girl that had been crushed by a suit of armour once. No one of importance. No one worth worrying about.

So Selene looked up and around at all the people that were regarding her so carefully, Sirius, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, George, Mr Weasley, Dora, Mad-Eye, Lupin, Mrs Weasley and Fred.

Was it wrong that she felt attachments of some kind to all of the people present, even if it was in the merest way? Sirius teased her night and day, like an older brother of sorts. Mad-Eye valued her opinion, and Selene treasured that more than she could ever admit. Hell, Lupin felt like more than just her old teacher, he felt like someone that would teach her in this present.

And now she was going to smash those attachments with a bloody hammer.

"I can see Thestrals." She began, and Sirius snorted. Mrs Weasley shot him a look, but in fact Selene was grateful for his sense of humour for once. "Because… because I saw people die."

George rolled his eyes. "You're supposed to be clever Cheesecake." He smirked. "Come on, get to the point."

"Because I saw _people _die George, _people_." Selene re-iterated. "Not just one person, two people, within the space of a few minutes."

Mrs Weasley clapped her hands over her mouth in shock, and Lupin's eyes widened. It seemed that he didn't predict this at all. Sirius nodded grimly, his previous good humour gone. Hermione and Ginny looked at each other for a split second, before breaking their gazes.

George was being as thick as ever. "What do you mean?" He asked, still smiling.

"Your uncles George." Selene broke. "Fabian and Gideon, it didn't take five Death Eaters to kill them, it took six. My father, and he brought me along for the fun of it."

Selene felt bile rise in her throat and she staggered over to the kitchen sink.

"Selene!" Mrs Weasley said. Typical that the woman that should care the least cares the most. "Selene. Dear, please, look at me."

If she opened her mouth then she would either vomit or scream, so Selene just shook her head. She didn't deserve any of their kindness, not when she had been so selfish. She could have saved them, if she'd shouted louder. She could. Have. Saved. Them.

"I forgive you." Mrs Weasley whispered, and this time Selene was sick.

_"I forgive you." He mouths, and the light switches off._

_ "I forgive you." Fleur smiles at me, pushing me towards my family._

_ "I forgive you." Draco mumbles, him in green and me in blue._

_ "I forgive you." I say, smiling up at our Beater. It was only a mistake, after all._

She. Could. Have. Saved. Them. It swirled around her head, making her dizzy and discombobulated, making the faces of people that would now hate her blur into white mess. She. Could. Have. Saved. Them.

_That_ was why she was not a Gryffindor, because she was too cowardly at the time that it mattered so very much. _That _was why she was not a Hufflepuff, because she was too selfish at the time that it could have changed everything. _That _was why she was not a Slytherin, because she was too meek when she should have been cunning. _That _was why she shouldn't be a Ravenclaw, because she had been so very very stupid.

"So many people." She murmured, managing a smile. "Too many people."

She could vaguely hear someone shouting, but she couldn't make out the words. Why was someone shouting? Selene couldn't understand why. Stupid, stupid, stupid girl.

It didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered. She had seen the expression of anger pass over Fred's eyes, even if it was just for a second. And Selene had always been so, _so _good at reading eyes. Too good, stupid girl.

He hated her now, he must hate her now. He wouldn't want to talk to her again. She would never feel his lips against hers again; breath in vanilla and gunpowder under the blazing sun, Selene would never feel so safe as he hugged the living hell out of her. She would never see his smile again, his smile that lit up both of them. Selene would never hear his infectious laugh that was so contagious that it made her at least giggle when she heard it.

Nothing would ever matter again if Fred didn't love her.

Selene staggered again, breathing sharply. Her lack of oxygen made her head swim again, and it took all the strength she had left to make it to the sink before she vomited again.

People flashed in front of her eyes, people she thought she'd never see again. Her godfather. Uncle Rodolphus. Aunt Bellatrix. Uncle Rabastan. Fabian Prewett. Gideon Prewett. The faintest glimpse of Lily Potter, stolen in the dark. People she thought she'd forgotten.

Then the people she loved. Just names.

Mama, Papa, Draco, Fleur… were that really that many? Cho, Allie, Katie, Angie, Harry, Ron. Hermione, Ginny…

Then Selene felt another wave of nausea hit as she thought of Fred. God, he must hate her now. How did he even love her in the first place? They were so different; it wasn't even worth dreaming about. And he'd hated her to begin with, and quite rightly, so how did they ever end up loving one another?

Face it; he was the ladies' man, the bad boy, the one who was always in detention and using his homework to lob at people. And she was the geek, the good girl, and the one who was the Prefect and had stellar grades, Herbology of course omitted.

Someone was talking now, no, their tone of voice was much too scared and broken to be called talking. They sounded like they were one step away from screaming.

"What's wrong with her?" The person said. It was such a familiar voice, a voice that let Selene's logical mind break through the barrier.

She was being stupid. Mrs Weasley had said that she forgave her. She was fine, she would be fine. Because Fred wouldn't hate her, she would feel the sensation of safeness and yet indescribable danger when they kissed, he would smile at her again, and no one could ever keep him from laughing.

Because she loved him. If she could just force herself to calm down, then she would be fine, they would be fine.

"I'm fine." Selene choked out, feeling a group of people guide her to a chair. Her vision began to focus, but slowly. Fixating on one miniscule detail, Selene exhaled gently.

Dangerous. What she had told them was so dangerous; it could overthrow everything she cared about. But she had told them, and it felt like a weight had been taken off her shoulders that she had been so accustomed to that she never noticed it before.

It took Selene a few moments to realise that she was fixating on Fred, but she didn't care, she didn't blush. Just for once.

"I'm fine, honestly." She repeated, her vision fully in focus.

Everyone was still in the basement kitchen, but no one looked especially annoyed at her. They only looked concerned, nothing else. Nothing drastic. She had been overreacting.

"What happened to me?" Selene asked, finally getting her sensible mind in gear. She had to work out exactly what had occurred.

Lupin stepped forward, looking shaken. "I think you had a panic attack Selene." He explained, using her first name for the first time. "They're not uncommon, not after… not after traumatic experiences."

Nodding, Selene managed to push herself so her back was slightly straighter. "I'm sorry, that's never happened to me before."

"No, it's me who should be sorry." Lupin said ruefully. "I shouldn't have let you tackle that Boggart. It was… disturbing, to say the least."

"I needed to tackle it, really." Insisted Selene, managing a smile. "I know what my greatest fear is now, it's probably best to know things like that in times like these Professor."

Lupin laughed, not unkindly. "I'm your Professor no longer Selene, do call me Remus. And may I ask what exactly is your greatest fear? It wasn't terribly clear."

The silence from everyone else became more noticeable, deafening everything in its path. Everyone was trying not to look at Selene, but at the same time staring at her. "It's… complicated. Much like what many people fear, their loved ones dying."

Hermione stifled a sob, and George instinctively inched closer to his twin.

"That, and…" Selene choked back her sobs – any more crying and she'd become a human waterfall. "Not being able to save them. That's why I saw Fabian's body first, because I failed to save him, with Gideon's, because I didn't scream loud enough. Then I saw the people I love now, killed in ways…"

"That you saw others killed by." Lupin – Remus – finished for her.

Sirius clenched his fist. "How many Death Eater victims did you see?" He growled, and Hermione sobbed again, moving closer to Ron. "How many, tell me!"

"At least twenty." Selene admitted, keeping her voice level, but wanting to scream and cry. "F-f-father used to hide t-them under our d-d-d-…"

"I think that's enough!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, moving closer to Selene with motherly instincts. "It's obvious you're upsetting her Sirius, it doesn't matter! That's enough, everyone, off you go! The drawing room won't clean itself, you know!"

"Mum-" Fred began, but Mrs Weasley cut him off.

"No Fred, you too. She needs to calm down, and that's not going to happen with you around dear."

"It's o-o-okay." Selene stuttered. "I-I-I'm f-f-fine M-M-Mrs W-Weasley."

"You are most certainly not fine dear." Mrs Weasley said kindly, sighing. "Yes, okay, Fred, you can stay down here. George, not you too! You know what she said before, too many people. Upstairs, now."

George left, and Mrs Weasley shut the door behind him. "Selene." She said sternly, and Selene blinked up at her with scared blue eyes. "I understand how hard it was for you to tell us this. And I know my brothers would want me to know that it wasn't your fault, because it wasn't. What your father did was wrong, and cruel. You were only three when that happened, and I can't believe that any father would ever do that to their daughter."

"I-I- I t-t-tried to s-s-save t-t-t-them." Selene breathed, holding her breath. "I-I-I t-t-tried. T-they d-d-didn't hate me."

"I don't hate you either Selene." Mrs Weasley said kindly. "No one does. Of course, Albus will naturally want to talk to you, but what you've told us…" She trailed off.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Fred spoke, taking Selene's hand under the table.

Her excuse sounded so petty now, she almost didn't want to tell him. "I thought y-y-you'd h-h-hate m-me."

Fred laughed, shaking his head at her. His laugh seemed to make everything look lighter, and it made Selene feel like the war was a million miles away. They might as well be living in a parallel universe whenever he laughed. "You're meant to be the smart one in this relationship love."

"I'm an idiot." Selene hid her head in her hands.

Laughing again, Fred pulled her closer to him so she was almost sitting on his lap. "You're a lot of things love, and stupid isn't one of them."

"But how did… _this _even happen?" Selene gestured around with her hands at the kitchen and its occupants. "This is all basically down to a fluke. If Moody – the impersonator I mean – hadn't decided to place me next to George in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Fleur hadn't walked me right into you, and the Grindylows didn't attack her… then I'd probably be with Nott by now."

"Well," Fred pondered, tapping his chin like he was thinking hard. "I guess then I wouldn't have noticed you then, but I would have noticed you eventually, even if it took until we were both in our twenties and off doing some grand important things, and I was planning to tell you that I loved you sometime even if you hadn't gone all Gryffindor on my arse and-"

"Language." Mrs Weasley interjected quickly.

"German." Fred quipped, grinning at Selene who burst into helpless laughter despite her previous scare.

Heh heh heh.

**Sorry, I just wanted to have the Boggart in since I got the idea of what Selene's worst fear would have to be. **

**And what's wrong with her? Was it a one-off? Or is it something a little more…**

**Permanent? **

**Please review!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	37. Chapter 36: Crystal Clear Recollection

**Oh I AM SO SORRY!**

**Truly, though. I have no words to describe the terrible thing that I have done to you all.**

**To cut a long story short, this is my stepdad's laptop, and he won't let me use it much at all.**

**Thanks to Daizychains123, Gurl5678 (x2! And I'm sorry. This chapter is for you.), HT188, MysteriousMindBlockedHeart, sarahmichellegellarfan1, and Charlyxx.**

**So, beginning of plot arch number something. What about… Number Quibbly. I quite like the sound of that. But fluff, weird stuff and a surprise appearance from one of my favourite un-developed minor characters! **

**Oh, and Dumbledore. So REVIEW!**

* * *

"I guess this is growing up." Dammit by Blink-182

* * *

Chapter 36: Crystal Clear Recollection

It was quite a surprise for all the occupants of Grimmauld Place when Professor Dumbledore turned up early on a Sunday morning, just after Mrs Weasley had finished clearing up the breakfast things.

"Thank you Molly." He said breezily, as he was passed a steaming mug of hot chocolate. "Even in summer, this drink always warms me right up."

Mrs Weasley nodded resignedly, knowing what he was about to ask her. "Before you speak with her Albus, I must warn you-"

"Remus has already filled me in." Dumbledore nodded, his eyes diminished in colour somewhat. "But I'm afraid I need to hear it from her herself Molly. I won't push her."

BANG!

The table shook with the ferocity of the boom, and Mrs Weasley gritted her teeth, ready to yell up to the twins about their latest misdeed. "BOYS, DOWN HERE AT ONCE!"

With two identical cracks, the freckled faces of the Weasley twins appeared in front of their mother in the Grimmauld Place kitchen, both smirking mischievously.

"Yes Mum?" They asked, before the twin on the left nudged the one on the right and turned to Professor Dumbledore.

"Hello Professor Dumbledore." The left twin acknowledged, not dropping his smirk.

"Hello George, Fred." Professor Dumbledore smiled at them, scratching his nose in an off-hand manner. "I must say, if most students hadn't already had their share of gore then I would ask you two to become fountains yourselves."

Both of their noses were gushing fantastic amounts of blood; that was gradually dripping down them on a steady track to the floor. They took one good look at one another before deciding that trying to fix them in front of their mother would be a very bad idea.

"WHAT HAVE YOU TWO BEEN DOING?" She yelled at them, and sure enough some more shrieking joined her yells.

"FILTH, SHAME DISHONOUR UPON MY FAMILY'S HOUSE AND NAME! SHAME OF MY SISTER'S OFFSPRING, MUDBLOODS, BLOOD-TRAITORS, HALF-BREEDS!"

"Ah, you see-" One of the twins began, waiting until someone had thrown the curtains back over Walpurga Black's painting.

"We were a little-" The other continued, leaning against the work surface in an almost bored fashion.

"Bored." They finished together, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled knowingly, catching the boys' eyes and sending them a wink.

Before Mrs Weasley could summon her well used 'Yelling-At-The-Twins-Voice', Dumbledore smacked his lips with a convincing exulterated sigh. "That was lovely Molly." He cut in. "But I am afraid my business will not wait."

The twin on the right, the one who was leaning against the work surface looked up at this. "Professor-" He began, but Dumbledore cut him off with a shake of his head.

"I assure you Mr Weasley, anything that Miss Malfoy does not wish to disclose will not be of any issue."

Of course, Dumbledore knew that this wasn't Fred's issue but neither of them pushed it.

Mrs Weasley turned away from the twins with a sigh, waving her wand at them and muttering '_Episkey._' "Fred, George, could you go and tell Selene that Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak with her, please?"

"Okay." George responded, tugging Fred out of the room. "Come on mate, you look like someone's enchanted your own personal cloud to rain on you all day."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a gloomy sod. Get over it. Anyway, lets hurry up or it'll be Monday before Dumbledore's gone."

This time, wise to threats of castration from Ginny, heavy books thrown at them from Selene and ten minute-long lectures from Hermione, they decided to actually knock on the girl's room's (a term coined and patented by Sirius) door.

"Come in!" Ginny called, not actually letting them do so as she opened the door for them. "God, what do you two want now?"

"Your unwavering loyalty." George ruffled his sister's hair before stepping into the room.

Hermione and Selene looked to be having a heated debate about what looked like types of Honeydukes sweet before the twins arrived, judging by the empty Acid Pops and Pepper Imps wrappers littering the space around where they were closeted on the floor.

"Oh, are you two okay?" Selene asked them, picking up on Fred's 'I-Have-My-Own-Personal-Rain cloud-And-I-Don't-Like-It-Anymore' mood. "What's happened?"

"Dumbledore's here to see you." Fred explained, gritting his teeth as he said it.

It was like someone had flicked a light switch – the mood changed from deliriously weird to solemn in a spilt second. "Oh, um… thanks." Selene smiled at him, feeling maybe a tad too happy than she should be. "I'd better go then. Oh, Hermione? Acid Pops are so much better."

"Excellent!" Professor Dumbledore smiled at Selene as she entered the kitchen. "Molly, I must ask you to leave us now. Thank you once again for that hot chocolate, I must have to ask you for the recipe sometime."

She didn't look happy about it, but Mrs Weasley left the kitchen muttering something about Puffskeins and their nesting habits under her breath.

As soon as the door had shut behind the Weasley matriarch, Professor Dumbledore's normally bright face grew graver and darker, as if he was inspecting a very unpleasant crime scene. "Judging by your lack of questioning, I daresay that you know why I must talk to you Miss Malfoy."

Selene nodded. "W-what would you like me to talk about?" She asked him, tripping over her words slightly.

"It isn't what I would like to talk to you about Miss Malfoy. It's what I would like you to show me." Dumbledore explained, watching Selene's face intently for any sign of pain or sadness. "I would expect that you understand the concept of Legimancy." He stated, and Selene nodded. "Good, good. I have not told anyone that I plan to search your memories like this, as I think Molly would not be best pleased." Selene cracked a little smile at this, still not speaking. "And if there are any memories you do not wish me to access, visualise shutting them behind a door."

"Okay." Selene sounded slightly more sure of herself this time, as she knew that she didn't have to admit it all again. "I-I'm ready Professor."

Professor Dumbledore closed his eyes, motioning for Selene to do the same. "I will not linger long in each memory." He stated. "From what Remus has told me, they have quite a negative impact on you."

Selene felt like someone was physically sorting through her memories, gently of course, but it was still disturbing all the same.

Glimmers of memories and thoughts flew past her, echoing as they did but not lingering long enough for Selene to be able to catch them.

Acid Pops… Nosebleeds… Ginger Hair… Are Quarter-Veela grumpier than normal Veela… The sea… Pepper… Fred… Chocolate… Magical Numbers… The Order… Is Harry okay… The Boggart… Voldemort… Her family… Fred again… George's plans… Letters…

Then the flipping through ceased, and it was if someone had picked up one single memory.

_"Selene, do you know what Potter has been saying about me?" Draco whispers to me, looking around anxiously as if Harry might be right behind him._

_ "That you're the heir of Slytherin." I predict, and he nods to tell me that I'm correct. "Drake, calm down. We know you aren't the heir; our family descends from the Selwyns not the Slytherins. "_

_ Draco rolls his eyes at me, shifting his position on the sofa slightly. "Yes, but it's nice to be noticed."_

_ I shrug. I have never been noticed. Would it be nice to be noticed? I don't know. _

_ Noticing my expression, Draco sighs at me. "Just because you're too scared to be a proper Malfoy doesn't mean it wouldn't be fun." He points out in his exasperation, but I take it the wrong way._

_ "You can't remember Draco, you can't remember everyone that died! You can't remember our father at his trial, you can't remember what it was like to live and love in a world of terror." I snap. "I don't want to be noticed, because then people will see me for who I am."_

The memory goes as fast as it comes, replaced just as quickly by another.

_"Are you okay?" Fred asks me, – _Selene mentally face-palmed herself, why did Dumbledore need to see this? _– Coming to sit down next to me. I can feel my heart rate rising rapidly and I just pray that he can't see the shock on my face._

_ Do I fancy him? I fancy him. Oh lord holy Agrippa what the Rowena should I do? Does he like me too? Or are my feelings one-sided._

_ I have to reply. "I'm fine." I manage, and my voice is just as level as before. God, his hair looks so… so… no, I refuse to think these things about a boy that has only just apologized to me about being a git. _

_ "Percy looks starved of entertainment." Fred states, holding out his hand to me without even looking at me. "Dance with me, geek of Ravenclaw?"_

_ "Who told you about that?" I ask him suspiciously, risking a little glance at Hermione, who simply grins at me. _

_ "George." Fred admits, as I let him pull me to my feet. "So, geek of Ravenclaw, what do you say?"_

_ I catch a glimpse of something in my eye, but I'm too busy being shy and confused ( and ever so slightly pleased) to care. "I guess, prankster in-chief."_

* * *

_The two bodies lie side by side. I can feel silent tears pouring down my face, as I know that no one else knows that I am here, the girl that might as well have killed them is breathing the same air as the people that loved them._

_ "Fabian and Gideon Prewett were heroes to the end." A man with long white, almost silvery hair says. He must be Albus Dumbledore. The man my father inexplicably hates. If only he knew. "They were loyal Gryffindors, courageous even when staring death in the face."_

_ Did Fabian Prewett know that death for him would come in the form of a helpless three year-old girl who talked like a seven year-old and the life experience that most people would never get in a lifetime? I doubt it. Did Gideon Prewett know that he would be tortured for three hours in front of that self-same girl before he was finally allowed to rest in peace? Again, I doubt it._

_ The pain I feel just cannot be expressed in words. It could well be just physical pain from being cramped in a bush, curled up tight among the leaves and thorns. But it has to be the guilt of watching on from afar, being alone. Dumbledore continues with his speech, but I can't listen. I block my ears, anything to avoid hearing it. I don't deserve to. _

Selene gasped, regaining her breath with difficulty as Professor Dumbledore regarded her with curiously misty eyes. "W-what was that last memory?" She asked him carefully, letting her eyes adjust to the bright lights.

"You wouldn't remember that Miss Malfoy." Dumbledore explained, pouring hot chocolate from his wand into an empty mug and handing it to the shivering girl opposite him. "Drink this. It's not as good as Molly's but it'll help."

"Why wouldn't I remember that memory?' Selene asked him, ignoring the steaming mug that was burning her hands. "Why?"

Dumbledore sighed, standing up and beginning to pace backwards and forwards along the length of the kitchen. "Miss Malfoy, you have an amazingly clear memory from your birth onwards. Not quite clear enough to be classed photographic, but remarkable all the same. Some of these memories are only accessible through Legimancy. I cut off the memory there because I wasn't sure what you would want."

"Why wouldn't I want to see that memory? And even if I repressed it, it couldn't be that bad." Selene insisted, more to reassure herself than anyone else.

"I'm afraid I don't know Miss Malfoy." Dumbledore admitted, stopping his pacing and allowing himself a small smile in her favour. "But I think this is quite enough. What I have seen, even if you personally did not see it at the time, is quite illuminating. Thank you for your time."

"What did you see?" Selene asked him, just as he opened the kitchen door to leave.

Professor Dumbledore just gave her a sad little smile, before turning and walking away, leaving Selene clutching a boiling-hot mug of hot chocolate and pulling her fingers off the mug to see them bright red.

* * *

"So, what did Dumbledore want?" Ron asked eagerly that night, sitting on the edge of Hermione's bed.

Selene wanted to tell them all about the Legimancy and her memories and that last one that was so new and apparently repressed, but something held her back. Did she want everyone knowing?

So she shrugged. "Just wanted to make sure that you guys weren't telling Harry anything more than you should, me included. Professor Dumbledore seems to think that I'm trustworthy, apparently."

George snorted, and Selene lobbed her pillow at him.

Ever since the group had arrived at Grimmauld Place, whenever something weird happened (like when everyone's underwear kept disappearing) or when people wanted to find out about Fred and George's new products (when Ron found out he had to take the Unbreakable if he wanted to find out, he decided against it) or if something generally interesting or awesome happened (citing the time that Ginny had discovered that there was a book in the Black library that swore at you when you dropped it), they had a meeting in the girls' room.

Currently, Ron and Hermione were both sitting on Hermione's bed, with Ginny occupying hers by herself. George scored Selene's bed for this meeting, and Fred had decided that to let Selene sit by herself would be a crime and forced her to sit on his lap on the floor, despite the fact that there was a perfectly good chair only two metres away.

"You never know, you might be Head Girl." Hermione suggested.

"God, no." Selene insisted, shaking her head. "I got into too much trouble last year, what with dating this idiot and all."

"Oi!" Fred protested, amid general laughter. "I'm not an idiot, I got our underwear back didn't I?"

"Yeah, but that was because you were the one who was taking it mate." George added, air high-fiving Selene.

"I thought it was Kreacher." Ginny asked her brother curiously.

George shook his head, hopping up, ready to re-enact the farce. "Right, I need a volunteer. Selene, come on up my Cheesecake."

Without any protest, Selene jumped up, expertly avoiding Fred's attempts to keep her down on his lap. "Ready when you are Georgie-pie."

"Right, Ginny, you're Kreacher." George grinned at his sister's indignant huff. "I'm Fred, isn't too hard to imagine really when you think about it. And because Cheesecake here can't act to save her life, she's simply going to be herself."

Ron and Hermione were holding in laughter by now. George rushed over towards where the girls kept their clothes, picking up the first bra that he found. "Ooh, I'm 'Fred-aka-Bacon-aka-Freddie'." He simpered, and Selene collapsed into giggles. "Why, isn't this a lovely item of woman's clothing? It just can't be my darling Selene's, it's too big. She is positively flat-chested!"

"Hey." Selene frowned, reaching over to hit George but he ducked. "I am NOT flat-chested."

George ignored her pleas and continued to simper, in a horrible impersonation of Fred. "That is good though, as I don't want her to find out about my 'weird-fetish-that-doesn't-actually-exist-I'm-just-bored' and she'll kill me if she finds out. Anyway, who cares! Let me get this done so I can go and snog Selene's face off!"

"It… hurts!" Hermione gasped, almost falling off the bed.

"Glad to know that you're all having such a good time at my expense." Fred said dryly, looking from a hysterical Hermione to his girlfriend, who was wiping tears of mirth off her cheeks, then to George, who was looking very pleased with himself. "And of course you're not flat-chested love."

Selene didn't answer audibly, she was too busy giggling, but she managed to let out a squeak that might have counted as thanks if you squinted at it.

"Ginny, this is where you come in." George commanded in his normal voice, and his sister begrudgingly moved forward, getting onto her knees so she looked more like a house-elf. "Oh, Kreacher!" He said, in the sickeningly sweet high-pitched voice of before. "I need your help!"

"Okay." Ginny said in her normal voice, and George glared at her. "Oh, alright then. _Okay_." She repeated, in a voice that sounded more like a frog croaking than anything else.

George chuckled, but he regained his 'Fred-persona' pretty fast. "I want you to take this bra and hide it so I can fulfill my 'weird fetish-that-doesn't-actually-exist-I'm-just-bored' and pin the blame on you! That okay?"

"_Okay._" Ginny croaked again, and then began to writhe on the floor in laughter.

George gave her one last scathing look before turning to Selene. "Right, your turn. Just act normal." He instructed.

Fred huffed silently, crossing his arms and avoiding looking at the rest of them.

Selene walked over to the drawer that George had taken the bra out of and looked in it. "Oh wow." She said in a monotone that made George roll his eyes and Ron crack up again. "My bra's gone. I wonder if Kreacher has taken it."

"She can't even act herself." George commented as Selene walked over to the 'Ginny-Kreacher'.

Selene ignored George completely. "Kreacher, did you take my underwear?" She asked, still in the same monotone.

'Ginny-Kreacher', anticipating that Fred's red-tinted ears were a cause for concern, quickly handed Selene the bra. "Yes I did, here it is." She said in her normal voice.

Hermione and Ron broke into enthusiastic applause, and George pulled Ginny and Selene up to bow with him.

Going to put the bra back in the drawer, Selene stopped suddenly, looking down at the piece of underwear. She went bright red. "George, I am going to kill you." She said, glaring at the smirking red head.

"Why?" He asked innocently, gulping slightly as Selene gritted her teeth, a gesture she did not do lightly.

"You. Used. My. Bra." She said quietly and dangerously. "George."

George took one step away from Selene, who took one step forward.

"Catch me if you can!" He said in an overly bright and cheery voice, vaulting over Selene's bed in an effort to get away from the quietly furious Ravenclaw.

Ginny and Hermione quickly stepped out of the way as Selene ran towards George, Ron and Fred instead electing to cheer them on in the form of calls of 'FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!'

Selene tripped over Ginny's bed, sending the bra flying, and landing right on top of Fred, who didn't move out of the way fast enough. The bra landed on top of George's head, who stumbled backwards, yelling a word that would have his mother washing out his mouth with soap if she caught him saying it.

Unfortunately, Mrs Weasley chose that exact moment to walk in.

She looked at Hermione and Ginny, pressed against the wall, Ron looking at his mother like a deer caught in the headlights, Selene lying _on top_ of Fred, Fred's grin (he hadn't noticed his mother yet) and Selene's bra, which was obscuring George's vision and quickly making the slow trek towards his feet, and stood there in the doorway caught between yelling at them and laughing at them.

"It's not what it looks like Mum." Ron said, and George quickly peeled Selene's bra off his face to drink in the sight before him. "We were… er…"

Sirius poked his head in behind Mrs Weasley, his eyes widening as he saw his 'baby cuz' pressed up against Fred on the floor. "I hope that's not what it looks like Weasley." He said smoothly, and Fred jumped up instantly, his face going very red.

"Uh…" He said, smoothing down his hair that had conveniently been mussed up in the exchange. "No."

* * *

It was a group of very subdued Weasleys and co. that went down for dinner that night, after enduring a five-minute rant from Mrs Weasley.

Fred was too embarrassed to even look at Sirius on his way down, choosing instead to walk down next to George, right behind his mother.

"Thinking back, I probably shouldn't have made that joke about Selene being flat-chested." He thought aloud, and Mrs Weasley sent him a scathing look. "Yes, sorry Mum, it was all in good fun."

"Then how did you end up with your twin brother's girlfriend's bra on your head, hmm?" Mrs Weasley asked him, turning back to the kitchen door and opening it with slightly more force than was needed.

"What's the matter Mum?" A young man who was sitting at the table with a blue-haired Tonks asked, looking up as Mrs Weasley entered the room.

"Your brothers." She said simply, allowing the group behind her into the kitchen.

"CHARLIE!" Ginny shrieked, running towards her second-eldest brother and throwing her arms around him excitably.

"Oh, hello Gin-Gin." He grinned down at her, before letting his attention waver to the rest of the Weasleys. "What have you lot been up to then?"

Fred and George shared a smirk, but Ron got in before they could say anything. "Well, George-… well Fred… and… it's complicated."

"It always seems to be." Charlie sighed, as Tonks giggled from the kitchen table. "Oh, hello Hermione. And that lovely girl is…?"

Selene blushed pink as Charlie winked at her. Fred gritted his teeth and stood forward. "Charlie, that's my girlfriend." He said pointedly. "Selene, meet Charlie. Charlie, meet Selene."

"Ah." Charlie backed away very quickly as he realised just who this 'lovely girl' was. "I'm sorry, Selene was it? I tend to act before I think. It's nice to meet you though, I've heard a lot about you from everyone."

Tonks stifled another giggle. "Oh, hello Selene." She greeted, making her hair turn its natural shade of brown.

"Hey Dora." Selene responded, hoping her face was less pink than it must have been before.

Scrunching his face up in confusion, Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Dora? She only lets her family call her…"

He looked from the newly brown-haired Tonks to Selene, and back again. Tonks rolled her eyes at Charlie. "God, have you only just realised? Selene's my cousin."

Fred chuckled, until his older brother shot him a glare and he shut up. "No. Not funny at all." He said solemnly, but the corner of his mouth was still quirking slightly.

"Of course not." George added, nodding slowly. "It was an easy mistake to make, Selene and Tonks look nothing alike. Completely different."

"Shut up you two." Charlie scowled good-naturedly, sitting back down and putting his feet up on the table, before quickly taking them off again. "Oh, yes. Sorry, I remember. No feet on the table."

Mrs Weasley gave him an incredulous look, before shaking her head. "Do you have no sense of cleanliness?" She asked him.

"Yes Mum." He said blithely. "My living room is ankle-deep in takeaway boxes, my bed hasn't been made for at least two-years, I'm pretty sure I spilt some beer down one of the walls that won't wash out and I don't own a washing machine."

"I want to be like him when I move out." Fred whispered to George, but unluckily Selene heard and gave him a look.

* * *

Charlie choked on his Butterbeer. "You landed on my little brother?" He asked Selene, who went bright red and mumbled something.

"Wow, I knew it was only a matter of time before my little cousin took after me in all aspects." Tonks winked at Selene. "Oh, come on Sellie, I want to see if you can go purple."

"It wasn't my fault!" Selene insisted. "I was chasing Git over there when I tripped over a bed and landed on Fred because he didn't move out of the way in time!"

George glanced up at her, before looking at Ginny. "I'm not an git, am I?" He asked her, before turning to face Selene again. "I think you have me confused with Fred. Can you really tell us apart?"

Chuckling into his mug, Charlie thought of something. "I'm assuring that you two do know that you George might be Fred and vice versa. Hardly anyone's been able to tell you apart since birth."

"That's faintly scary." Selene blinked, shaking her head. "There's a fifty/fifty chance that you're right Charlie. A fifty/fifty chance that I'm dating someone called George not Fred."

She shivered, and looked over at Tonks, who morphed her hair to a red colour and her face to sport freckles, raising her glass at her cousin with a grin.

"And _that's _unnatural." Charlie commented, rolling his eyes at Tonks. "You look like a long-lost Weasley cousin or something. Please, just change it into something less… strange."

Tonks shrugged, and morphed back to bubble-gum pink hair and freckle-free skin. "You are way too easy to freak Char-Char, considering that you work with Dragons."

"Dragons are beautiful." Charlie said adamantly, ignoring the twin's sniggering. "Especially Swedish Short-Snouts, their scales are so useful, waterproof and would make good raincoats if they weren't an endangered species of Dragon."

"So, Char-Char." George said loudly, leaning back in his chair. "Got any birds on the horizon? Or have your Dragons stolen your heart?"

"Will we have little Dragon nephews and nieces?" Fred queried.

"Can I be godfather?" George continued, affixing a shit-eating grin to his face as he watched Charlie's expression.

"Be sure to name one of the little terrors after me!"

Deciding that the twins were beyond help, Charlie turned to Selene, who was giggling behind one hand. "How the absolute hell are you able to put up with them?" He asked her incredulously. "Let alone dating them, being friends with them sounds like a challenge! And I pop along to England because I have a few days off, and I find out that possibly the most annoying of my brothers-" Fred smirked at this and pretended to bow deeply. "Has a girlfriend that I later find out is the baby cousin of one of my best friends, a Ravenclaw, a Prefect, smart, and pretty. I at least thought Bill would hop in there before Fred."

"Ah." The twins shared a significant glance, and Selene snorted. "Almost."

"What?" Charlie looked between Fred and George excitedly. "Does Bill have a bird too then? Anyone I know?"

Both twins looked to Selene, who sighed. "Yes, okay then. The French Triwizard Champion, Fleur Delacour. Who didn't think to tell me that she was in England at all, I might add."

Charlie's blue eyes grew wide and he dropped his mug, which shattered into pieces into the floor. "_Reparo._" He said hastily, looking around like his mother might have heard the noise. "The Veela girl?"

"Quarter-Veela." Selene amended, not thinking.

"Whatever. Wow, he aims high, doesn't he?"

Sensing that this conversation was going to drift into less-acceptable territory, Hermione, Ginny and Selene simultaneously stood up and left, leaving the brothers to discuss things that were best left unsaid, in their opinion.

"I hope she doesn't marry Bill." Ginny said, without warning, just as they passed the portrait of Walpurga Black. "Fleur I mean. She seems a bit… vapid."

"Fair enough." Selene shrugged, seeing the point. The very sharp point.

Kreacher walked out in front of them, muttering nonsense under his breath. He stopped when he saw the trio of girls, bowing so deeply that his nose grazed his ground when he saw Selene.

"Mistress Selene." He said politely, but his eyes were sullen. Selene was one of the few people he was happy to serve in the house, but that was purely because her name was up on the tapestry on the wall, and he had no way of knowing that Selene was as good as disowned. He still didn't like her though. "Kreacher is happy to serve Mistress Malfoy, yes, for she is the daughter of Mistress Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. _Mistress Malfoy is too friendly with the Blood-Traitors and Mudbloods, yes._" He added, under his breath.

"Kreacher, don't call Hermione a Mudblood." Selene told him, grateful for her power over him for once.

"Kreacher must do as Mistress Selene says, yes." The House-Elf muttered sullenly. "Mistress Selene is good, pure-blooded Mistress, yes."

"Are you okay Kreacher?" Hermione asked the House-Elf kindly.

Kreacher scowled up at her, but didn't open his mouth. He didn't want to speak to anyone less than pureblood.

Ginny rolled her eyes, and stepped past the House-Elf, waiting for the others to follow her. Kreacher shuffled off, mumbling about something unintelligible.

"We should really do something about him." Hermione said conversationally to Selene, who nodded, not really listening. "It's good that he will listen to you as well as Sirius. I mean, he's living all cramped, under that boiler, with those disgusting blankets."

"He likes it." Selene said absent-mindedly, her mind drifting back to the memory that Dumbledore had shown her part of. Why had she been there, at that time? Why was she so distressed at the time?

And most importantly, why had she repressed the memory?


	38. Chapter 37: Harry Returns

**Well, this was a pretty prompt update. Two days? That's my normal.**

**So, thank you to The souless ones, Daizychains123, sarahmichellegellarfan1, MarineAstriella, HT118, BellatrixD, Blueberrytoast, and Charlyxx.**

**Well, Harry returns (hence the chapter name) and HE WANTS ANSWERS!**

**Basically, this is where we start to get in the Order of the Phoenix storyline. **

**So review! Thank you in advance.**

* * *

"Memories, they seem to show up so quick but they leave you far too soon." - High Hopes by Kodaline

* * *

Chapter 37: Harry Returns

"I hate my name." Selene said conversationally, picking at the loose threads on her jumper, which bore a large red 'F'.

Fred and George looked up from the Extendable Ear that they had been trying to use to listen in to the meeting in the kitchen. "No, you don't." George corrected. "It's unusual sure, but not stupid."

"Yes, but _Selene_. I'd rather have a name like Jane, or Andrea, or Lea." Selene elaborated, sitting down with a grimace.. "But of course my mother had to fit in with the family tradition of naming everyone after outer-space stuff."

"Selene is an awesome name." Fred insisted.

"You're just saying that because it's in the job description." Selene pointed out, using his own words against him.

"Ooh, burn!" George grinned. "Gives me an idea for a joke product, actually."

"What is the job description anyway?" Fred asked Selene, moving to sit next to her. "Right, okay, number 1: Boyfriend must have red hair. Number 2: Boyfriend must be a handsome devil."

"Number 3: Boyfriend must be egoistical, annoying and idiotic." Cut in Selene, shaking her head at him. "I really don't understand you sometimes Fred."

Fred continued. "Number 4: Boyfriend must be kind, able charm the pants off you, and awesome. Number 5: Boyfriend must be a great kisser."

"So far Freddie darling, you fit number 1 and 3" Selene sighed. "Leave me alone and it might stretch to all of them."

"WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW _HIM _COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ME!"

The yells cut through the conversation, sending Selene bolt upright and Fred almost fell off the bed. George almost dropped the ear.

"BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?"

"Is that-" George began, but he was quickly cut off again.

"CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT _DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR-"_

"Har-" George attempted to continue.

"FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK IN PRIVET DROVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON-"

"Harry." George finally finished, but he was unable to say any more.

"I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A RIGHT LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER-"

Selene exhaled, avoiding looking at either George or Fred. "Oh no, Harry…" She said quietly, feeling immensely guilty. "We should have at least sent him some kind of information, it must have been horrid for him."

The shouting seemed to have stopped, for now at least. George looked at the Extendable Ear he had been working on with slight trepidation, as if he half-expected Harry to begin shouting again. "Well." He said, after a few moments had passed. "We're all together now."

No more shouting came from the floor below, but Fred, George and Selene were reluctant to restart their earlier conversation, which could be viewed as a good or bad thing depending on how you looked at it.

They had been sitting in silence for quite some time when Fred stood up. "I think we need to pay them a visit, brother and girlfriend of mine."

George nodded, standing up and passed Fred the Ear. "Keep that on you mate, don't want Mum finding it."

"Shouldn't we _walk _downstairs?" Selene followed Fred and George to the centre of the hall. "Just this once. Harry isn't… used to you two apparating everywhere yet."

"Nah, it'll be fine." Fred waved a hand unconvincingly. "Harry won't mind, not after…" He trailed off here, looking at George.

"Not after he's been shut up with his Muggles." George finished for Fred, nodding at his twin. "Oh, come on Cheesecake darling, it'll be a right laugh."

Selene sighed and rolled her eyes, begrudgingly nodding at George. "Okay then, but if he has a heart-attack I refuse to cover for you."

"…drawing room tomo- ARRGH!" Hermione screamed as Fred, George and Selene materialised out of thin air in the middle of the room. "Stop _doing _that!" She said weakly.

"Hello Harry." George said, beaming at him. "We thought we heard your dulcet tones."

"And when he says dulcet, he means that you weren't putting on a falsetto." Selene added, smiling at Harry and sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out." Fred continued, also beaming. "There might be a couple of people fifty miles away that didn't hear you."

"You three passed your Apparation tests then?" asked Harry grumpily.

"With distinction." Fred explained.

"It would have taken you about thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs." Ron said.

"Time is Galleons, little brother." Fred shook his head, holding up the Extendable Ear. "Anyway Harry, you're interfering with reception. Extendable Ears." He added, in response to Harry's raised eyebrows. "We're trying to hear what's going on downstairs.

"You want to be careful." Said Ron, looking dubiously at the Ear. "If Mum sees one of them again…"

"It's worth the risk, that's a major meeting they're having."

The door opened, and a long mane of red hair appeared. "Oh, hello Harry." Ginny said brightly. "I thought I heard your voice." She turned to Fred and George and added, "It's a no-go with the Extendables, she's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door."

"How'd you know?" George asked her, crestfallen.

"Tonks told me how to find out." Ginny said simply. "Just flick something at the door, and if it bounces away, then there's no way the Ears will be able to get under the gap."

Fred heaved a deep sigh. "Counter –enchantment?" He asked Selene, who shook her head. "Dammit, I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to."

"Snape's here?" Harry perked up considerably.

"Yeah." George said carefully, before closing the door and sitting down on one of the beds, Ginny following and Fred sitting next to Selene on the floor. "Giving a report, top secret."

"Git." Fred added idly.

Hermione looked at him reprovingly. "He's on our side now."

Ron snorted. "Doesn't stop him being a git. The way he looks at us when he sees us."

"Bill and Charlie don't like him either." Ginny said, like this settled the matter.

"Are Bill and Charlie? I thought Bill was working in Egypt, and Charlie was back with his Dragons in Romania." Harry pointed out.

"Charlie got a bit of time off and decided to come back to England for a week or so." Fred began. "And Bill applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order. He says he missed the tombs, but there are compensations."

"What do you mean?"

Selene groaned, it always fell to her to talk about her grumpy quarter-Veela friend. "Fleur's got a job in Gringotts to improve her English."

"Bill's been giving her a lot of private lessons." Fred sniggered, earning an elbow in the side from Selene. "Oi, watch it woman!"

"And Charlie's in the Order too, and when he is in Romania he makes contacts on his days off." George added.

Harry looked around at the group in faint surprise. "Couldn't Percy do that?" He asked.

They all exchanged darkly significant looks. "Whatever you do, don't mention Percy in front of Mum and Dad." Ron told Harry in a tense voice.

"Every time Percy's name's mentioned, Dad breaks whatever he's holding and Mum starts crying." Fred explained darkly, and Selene rested her head on his shoulder. "Had a huge row with Dad just after 'Lene came. I've never seen Dad row with anyone like that, Mum's the one who shouts."

"We were about to come and join the Order." Ron began. "Percy got a promotion, under-thingy of Fudge or similar. Dumbledore's name is mud with Fudge and the Ministry nowadays, so Dad wasn't happy. Percy left, you got dragged into it Harry and… there we have it."

"You're in almost every Daily Prophet now Harry." Hermione said dubiously. "Just… little mentions, nothing serious."

From the look on Harry's face, he was just as upset about this as the Weasleys, Hermione and Selene already were. "But well, the _Prophet _publishes bad stuff about everyone." Hermione added quickly. "Dumbledore, you…"

There was a sound of footsteps on the stairs and Fred and George disappeared with a crack. Mrs Weasley poked her head around the door, smiling around at the people that were gathered in the room. "The meeting's over, you can come down and have dinner now. Everyone's dying to meet you Harry. Ginny, did you leave all of those Dungbombs outside the kitchen door?"

"No." Ginny said, convincingly. "That was Crookshanks, crazy cat loves playing with them."

"Oh, I thought it might have been Kreacher again." Mrs Weasley shook her head. "He keeps doing odd things like that. What have you been doing, your hands are filthy! Go and wash them before dinner please."

Ginny grimaced at the others and followed her mother out of the room, leaving Harry alone with Ron, Hermione and Selene. "Who's Kreacher?" Harry asked them.

"The house-elf that lives here." Ron muttered. "Nutter. Worships Selene, of course."

Harry turned to Selene, questioning in his eyes. "Well, I'm family." Selene explained, not really confident with the subject. "And Kreacher might listen to me, but he hates me anyway."

* * *

George and Fred shared a look for a split-second, before taking out their wands.

"What are you about to do?" Selene looked up from where she was supervising the stew as it simmered quietly in its cauldron. "Fred, George, what are you about to do?"

"Nothing dear!" Fred said brightly, as Mr Weasley often did to Mrs Weasley. "Nothing to worry about."

"_Locomotor stew._" George waved his wand at the stew and it began to hover in the air, Selene scooting backwards from it in surprise. "That worked better than I expected. All that extra studying for our OWLs paid off, I guess."

Doing the same to the breadboard and a flagon of Butterbeer, Fred grinned at Selene. "You can't say we're lazy."

"Uh…" Selene blinked at the quietly floating stew, Butterbeer and breadboard. "Yes I can. You are both incredibly lazy, it'd take approximately ten seconds longer to _walk _with the food. Everyone knows by now that you two are of age, you don't need to keep drawing attention to it."

"Harry hasn't had the pleasure of the full spectacle." George said, in a tone that made her inwardly groan. "Come on Forge! Lets show the littlies how it's done!"

The twins disappeared from view, and Selene cautiously began to follow them, keeping a safe distance at all times (George's concentration tended to waver).

"Fred-George-NO, JUST CARRY THEM!" Mrs Weasley shrieked, and Selene abandoned all cautiousness to run around the corner, arriving just in time to see the bread knife lodge itself in the table where Sirius's hand had been a second before, before colliding with Fred's back and pushing all three of them down onto the floor, taking the now empty flagon of Butterbeer with them.

"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" Screamed Mrs Weasley. "THERE WAS NO NEED – I"VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS – JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW, YOU DON"T NEED TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"

"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" Fred called, from where he was sandwiched between Selene and George. "Sorry Sirius, mate – didn't mean to-"

Harry and Sirius began to laugh, the latter giving Selene a hand up as she finally got to her feet. Mundungus, who had evidently been talking with them, had toppled backwards off his chair and was now swearing furiously.

"Boys." Mr Weasley said firmly, placing the stew in its rightful place. "Your mother's right, you're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now you've come of age."

"No one else caused this sort of trouble!" Mrs Weasley raged, slamming a fresh flagon of Butterbeer onto the table, spilling just as much as the twins had before. "Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't charm everything he met! Selene doesn't almost kill people with flying knives! Percy-"

She stopped, catching her breath with a frightened look at her husband.

"Let's eat." Charlie said quickly, Bill nodding briskly.

For a few minutes there was silence, apart from the scraping of chairs and chink of plates and cutlery. Then Mrs Weasley turned to Sirius.

"I've been meaning to tell you, Sirius, that old Boggart we found hasn't gone away. It's still trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room. Could we get Alastor to check it out?"

"Whatever you like." Sirius said indifferently, as Selene froze across the table. As much as she insisted to the contrary, she was extremely embarrassed that she wasn't able to face her Boggart, and liked to pretend that the incident never happened.

Tonks caught her wariness and grinned at her cousin, screwing up her face in intense concentration, turning her nose into an impression of Snape in a an effort to get her spirits up. Selene managed a little smile, which put Tonks off the subject for now.

Hermione and Ginny were watching Tonks fixatedly, requesting their favourite noses like patrons in a restaurant. "Ooh, can you do your duck face one?" Hermione asked her politely, and Tonks obliged.

If Selene had looked up at that moment, she would have seen Harry watching her intently, like he knew that something had gone on while he had been with his aunt and uncle but wasn't quite sure what. But when she finally did lift her gaze, Harry was listening to Ron, Fred and George's conversation with Mundungus.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked Selene unexpectedly, who jumped, almost dropping her fork on the stone floor.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine." Selene nodded, looking anywhere but at Hermione's face. "What about you?"

Hermione launched into a detailed explanation about just why the Ministry could not expel Harry, that Selene stopped listening to after a while. She unceremoniously caught Harry's gaze across the table, flashing a swift smile in his direction before turning back to her bushy-haired friend.

"Nearly time for bed, I think." Mrs Weasley said, with a yawn.

"Not just yet, Molly." Said Sirius, pushing away his empty plate and turning to look at Harry. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing that you would do when you got here was ask questions about Voldemort."

The atmosphere in the room changed with astonishing rapidity, Selene becoming fully aware of all the conversation going on around her for the first time since Mrs Weasley mentioned the drawing room Boggart.

"I did!" Harry said indignantly. "I asked Hermione and Ron but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so-"

"And they're quite right." Mrs Weasley cut in. "You're too young."

"Since when did someone have to be in the Order to ask questions?" Sirius pointed out. "Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen-"

"Hey, hang on!" Interrupted George loudly.

"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" Said Fred angrily.

"We've been trying to get information out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single bloody thing!" George complained.

"Harry's not even of age!"

"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing." Sirius said calmly. "That's your parent's decision. Harry, on the other hand-"

"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!" Mrs Weasley said sharply. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"

"I don't intend to tell him more than he _needs to know_, Molly." Said Sirius. "But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back, he has more right than most to-"

"No one's denying what he's done!" Said Mrs Weasley, her voice rising and her fists trembling on the arms of her chair. "But he's still-"

"He's not a child!" Sirius added impatiently.

"He's not an adult either!" Mrs Weasley said, the colour rising in her cheeks. "He's not _James, _Sirius!"

"I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks Molly." Said Sirius coldly.

"I'm not-"

"Molly." Lupin cut in calmly. "Personally, I think it better that Harry gets the facts – not all the facts Molly, but the general picture – from us, rather than a garbled version from… others."

His expression was mild, but Selene could tell that he knew that Fred and George still had a numerous amount of Extendable Ears at their disposal. She stifled a smile, instead forcing a suitably enquiring look onto her face.

"Dumbledore may have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has Harry's best interests at heart-"

"He's not your son." Sirius said quietly.

"He's as good as Si-"

"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry." Lupin cut in sharply. "Sirius, sit down. I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this." Lupin continued. "He's old enough to decide for himself."

"I want to know what's been going on." Harry said instantly. He didn't look at Mrs Weasley.

"Very well." Said Mrs Weasley, her voice cracking. "Ginny – Ron – Hermione – Selene – Fred – George – I want you out of this kitchen right now."

There was an instant uproar.

"We're of age!" Fred and George bellowed together.

"If Harry's allowed, why can't I?" Shouted Ron.

Sirius's voice cut above all the others. "Molly, I want Selene to stay too. She deserves this just as much as Harry does, and as her cousin I think I have the right to decide for her."

"Sirius, just because she's seen more than maybe even Harry does not mean that Selene is ready too!" Mrs Weasley hissed. "She might be of age, but you of all people should know why we shouldn't let her know!"

Standing up again, Sirius raised his voice. "She's a legal adult, and again you are not her mother!"

"I…" Mrs Weasley took a deep breath. "All right then. Fred and George can stay, I guess Ron and Hermione can too, but Ginny – BED!"

Ginny didn't go quietly, Selene could hear her raging and storming up the stairs. Sirius gave her a look that loosely translated as 'I-risked-Mrs-Weasley's-wrath-for-you-don't-mess-it-up', before dampening the effect slightly by grinning at his little cousin manically. "Okay, Harry… What do you want to know?' Sirius asked.

* * *

"Selene…" Someone was shaking her gently. "You'd better get up right now."

Shaking away her still dream-filled thoughts, Selene cracked open her eyes. "Yes, Ginny, I'm awake." She yawned, staggering upright. "Just… didn't get much sleep, that's all."

Hermione shot her a sympathetic look. "Me too." She revealed. "I was so worried about what Sirius said about the weapon that Voldemort was trying to get hold of. I shouldn't be but…"

"You are." Ginny completed the sentence. "But come on, Mum's found a nest of dead Puffskeins under the sofa and there are way more Doxys than she initially believed. If we don't turn up to help soon she'll blow her nut."

Just as Fred had predicted the previous night, Hermione and Selene had provided Ginny with a step-by-step explanation of the discussion, aided by Selene's ability to perform magic outside of school (the silencing charm). Ginny had been just about as worried as both of the older girls, although it didn't seem like she had lost sleep over it.

"Selene, can I talk to you for a moment?" Harry asked her, just after Ron had left his and Harry's room.

"Yeah, sure Harry." Selene ducked inside the room, breathing a sigh of relief when Harry closed the door behind them. "What's the problem?"

Harry shifted from foot to foot gingerly, trying to avoid the subject but at the same time address it before he chickened out. "Last night, Mrs Weasley said that you'd seen more than maybe even me. What did she mean by that?"

This question had been bound to come up sometime, the only thing that shocked Selene was the quickness of the query. "Well, as you know my father is a Death Eater." She shuddered, not bothering to put it in the past tense. "My aunt and uncle were also Death Eaters too. You can't grow up in that sort of environment without seeing things."

"If it's too-" Harry began.

Selene shook her head. "As you said last night, you deserve to know. Knowledge brings power, so it's understandable that after being shut up with those Muggles that you want to know what's going on."

"Do you know more about what's been going on?" Harry asked eagerly.

"No, but I know things that will prove helpful to the Order if they need it." Selene explained cryptically. "I made it out of my engagement, but I'm still a Malfoy Harry. There's more than one reason Father didn't want me to go to the Weasleys, and one of those reasons is because I know too much. They wanted me for the Death Eaters Harry, and from what I heard Voldemort was willing to take me in without a second glance. You screwed Voldemort's plans up Harry, I screwed my father's up. I know what he's done, who he's killed, what he'll do this time around. Did you ever wonder why I acted like I did at the Quidditch World Cup?"

"Are you joining the Order then, as soon as you leave school?" Harry said calmly, but he didn't look happy at what Selene had just told him.

"Fred won't like it, but yes I'm planning to." Selene exhaled, hanging on for a shelf for support as the world began to swim around her. "Just… give me a… second…"

The world stopped swimming after a few seconds, and Selene raised her eyes to meet Harry's. "Professor Dumbledore was doing what was best for you at the time Harry. If you knew any more in such an environment then you would have been an open target. You're safe at the Dursleys Harry, more so than here. But the more you knew the more you were at risk. Dumbledore couldn't risk it."

"How do you know this?" Harry' voice was filled with both surprise and concern. "No one else had told me that, not Ron, not Hermione, not Mrs Weasley, not even Sirius. They all think that Dumbledore was being deliberately mistrustful of me."

Selene pointed one finger at herself. "Ravenclaw." She said simply. "I notice things, I know things. No one else realised because no one else looked for it."

A bluebird among the robins – the only Ravenclaw in a house full of Gryffindors. Hermione was close, but even the smartest witch of her age could become blinded when among people that all believed the same thing, even if it was deep down.

"You're smarter than Hermione!" Harry smiled. "No wonder she likes you so much then, you're the only person who can beat her in anything!"

Selene laughed, shaking her head again. "No, she's much, much smarter than I am. I just know where to look for things. It's no big deal."

* * *

"Selene!"

Selene looked up from where she was trying to move a vicious hand-eating box into a big black bin bag. Sirius was waving at her from the other side of the room, gesturing to the large tapestry behind him with one hand. Passing the bag to Ginny quickly, Selene moved over to where he and Harry were standing.

As she neared, she could read the gold inscription on the very top of the tapestry:

_The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black_

'_Toujours pur'_

"Family tree." Sirius explained, looking up at it in distaste. "Thought you two might like to see it."

Selene traced the words with one finger. "I'm on here somewhere then, aren't I?"

Sirius nodded, and Harry leaned in towards the tapestry too. "Look, there's where I was." He pointed to a large black burn mark on the tapestry. "I got blasted off when I ran away when I was sixteen. Went to your Dad's place Harry, lived there in the summer holidays then got a place of my own when I turned seventeen. Got a bit of gold off my Uncle Alphard – he's been wiped off here too, that's probably why."

"Why did you leave?" Harry asked, and Selene looked at her cousin as well.

Sirius smiled bitterly and ran his fingers through his long, unkempt hair. "Because I hated the whole lot of them: my parents, with their pure-blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal…" He trailed off momentarily, his gaze drifting to Selene slightly. "My idiot brother, soft enough to believe them… that's him."

He jabbed a finger at the very bottom of the tree, at the name 'Regulus Black'. Selene shivered involuntarily, and she knew Sirius had at least one eye on her. Of course he knew.

Sirius and Harry continued their conversation, but Selene just stared at the name 'Regulus Black', memories flying past her rapidly. She felt nausea hit her again, and wrenched her mind away from that point determinedly. She was not going to succumb to it this time.

"Hey, there you are!" Harry pointed to where a double line of gold embroidery linked Narcissa Black to Lucius Malfoy, and then two single vertical gold lines from their names that led to the name Selene first, then the name Draco.

"Wish I wasn't on there." Selene muttered, shaking her head.

Sirius chuckled. "Might come in handy one day cuz. You never know. I doubt it though. You know, just give me a second." He scanned the tapestry up and down a few times, before nodding and pointing to another burn mark. "Cedrella Black, my great aunt. Arthur's mother."

Harry did a double take. "You're related to the Weasleys too?" He asked.

"Arthur's my second cousin once removed." Sirius explained. "The pure-blood families are all interrelated. If you want your kids to marry a pure-blood, the choices are quite limited; there are hardly any of us left."

"Lestrange…" Harry said aloud, and Selene blinked, concentrating on keeping her mind in the present.

"They're in Azkaban." Sirius said shortly. "Bellatrix and her husband Rodolphus came in with Barty Crouch junior. Rodolphus's brother Rabastan was with them too."

Fighting the urge to vomit, Selene closed her eyes and took a few, deep breaths. Her aunt was in Azkaban, far away. She couldn't get to her. She could feel Harry looking at both her and Sirius in distaste, like having a relative that did such despicable things meant that they were despicable too.

"You never said she was-"

"Does it matter if she was my cousin?" Sirius snapped. "As far as I am concerned, they're not my family. _She's _certainly not my family. I haven't seen her since I was your age, unless you count a glimpse of her coming into Azkaban."

"She might be my aunt." Selene gasped, trying to get oxygen to her mind. "And she might also be my godmother, but I haven't seen her since I was ten. I now everything that she's done, and do you think I'd choose her if I could choose my family?"

"Sorry." Harry said quickly. "I didn't mean…"

"It's fine." Selene insisted. "You can't choose your family."

Harry and Sirius continued talking, and Selene walked out of the room. She had to get out of there before the memories consumed her. The nausea and headaches hadn't improved in the slightest, and Selene didn't want people knowing about that. If she couldn't help herself then who could?

After all, she was completely alone in this.

**Well, that was… actually quite fun to write. **

**Hope you liked reading it as much as I liked writing it.**

**Eleanor xxx**


	39. Chapter 38: The Art Of Never Being Alone

**Well, hello there!**

**Has it been long? No, it hasn't! I may start updating daily until the end of my summer holidays – then updates will take longer to pop up, I'm afraid.**

**But I am actually really looking forward to Year 10! Yup, I've gone mad, I know. But it'll all be so much easier not having to mess around with annoying tosspots in music (they got my end of term grade down! Jesus, I do so much for my music teachers) and history (group work that seemed rather stupid when I WAS THE ONLY ONE DOING ANYTHING!). **

**God, sorry, that was a bit of a rant. But one of my many pet peeves (I have **_**way **_**too many) is people who just cannot be assed to get on with life! Yes, that guy dumped you, WHO CARES? I DON'T, AND I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT WHEN I'M SUPPOSED TO BE RESEARCHING SHAKESPEARE!**

**Sorry again. **

**Moving on… (*I cough like Umbridge and my little sister jumps*) Thank you to Daizychains123, HT188, Gurl5678, Charlyxx, bellatrixD and two more very lovely reviewers who I cannot find because my goddamn laptop is playing up again.**

**So, this chapter… Well, a slightly spur-of the moment decision (You'll know it when you see it), lots of fluff – I'm basically a fluff zombie now! Must… write… fluff… And Sirius MAYBE loosening up a little.**

**Heaven knows he needs to. So Review!**

* * *

"There's not a soul out there, no one to hear my prayer." - Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) by ABBA

* * *

Chapter 38: The Art of Never Being Alone

"Good luck Harry."

That sentiment echoed throughout the halls of Grimmauld Place that morning. Mrs Weasley was so worried; she didn't even have the heart to reprimand Fred and George for enchanting a goblet to sing whenever it was washed up.

Hermione and Ron sat in silence in the drawing room, both perched on uncomfortable wooden chairs that were badly in need of a clean. No one else joined them in their silent Virgil, deciding instead that Harry was most definitely going to get off and that their time was better spent on other activities.

"Evil cat." George glared at Crookshanks as he brushed past him on his way up to his and Fred's 'workshop'. "Ginger haired, freaky cat."

"Original insults George." Selene commented. "Just maybe try something a little less pathetic next time."

"Excuse me, but we all can't be Ravenclaws with brilliant minds and comebacks." George rolled his eyes. "Some of us are more focused on the finer things in life, like pranks and pretty girls."

"Angelina comes pretty high on your totem pole there, doesn't she?"

George choked, mumbled something about chocolate and apperated away from Selene, who stifled a laugh and shook her head.

"You're getting good at annoying people love." Fred feigned surprise. "Only a little while ago you were the same girl who blushed purple when I snogged her in front of the school."

Selene went pink at the memory. "That was different." She insisted. "That was embarrassing. Really embarrassing."

"No, what was embarrassing was when you turned up in the Great Hall wearing possibly the sexiest clothes I've ever seen you wear, and George went over to flirt with you." Fred explained. "According to Alicia, when I went over too the sexual tension between us was so big that she could have cut it with a knife."

"What about the Second Task, when her and Katie kept pushing us into each other, and you gave me your scarf and then you kissed me and then I got freaked out?" Selene listed off. "Or when you kissed me in that passageway and all the others jumped out from behind that tapestry and scared me half to death? Or-"

"Yes, yes, I get the idea." Fred sighed. "No need to remember them all love, there are way too many that I'd rather forget."

They walked in silence for a while, before realising that they'd already reached the 'workshop' door. Fred pushed the door open, and George leapt up from the floor.

"At last, I thought you'd never get here!" He greeted, his and Selene's previous clash forgotten.

"Get out of here George." Fred shooed, gesturing towards the door while putting his arm around Selene's waist. "Go on, shoo."

George rolled his eyes. "This is my room too you know." He complained. "I have equal rights to it with you Fred. You can't just kick me out. Go somewhere else, we all know you're scared of Sirius but that is no reason to be mean to your devilishly handsome twin brother."

"I couldn't possibly comment." Selene said dryly. "All I am saying is that you two are virtually identical."

"Virtually? My dear Cheesecake, we are identical!" George corrected. "And with that, would you finally tell us how you can tell us apart? It is a mystery I have not yet solved."

The twins both turned to face Selene interestedly. "Go on." Fred prompted. "Tell us."

Selene sighed, giving up her pretense for the first time. "Your eyes." She admitted, sitting down on the side of the bed closest to the door. "George, yours are more… light brown I guess. And Fred, yours are a slightly deeper colour, like um… chocolate."

This statement hung in the air for a few minutes. George opened his mouth like he was going to say something, and then closed it again, changing his mind.

"I really have nothing to say to that.' Fred stated, grinning at Selene. "So my eyes are different then?"

"You said you had nothing to say to that." George pointed out, but he didn't sound bothered. "Well. That was unexpected, I genuinely have never noticed that before."

They were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and shutting downstairs. Harry and Mr Weasley had returned.

"I knew it!" Ron was yelling as the Fred, George and Selene came piling down the stairs into the kitchen. "You always get away with stuff!"

"They were bound to clear you." Said Hermione, whose previously white face had coloured and was holding a shaking hand over her eyes.

"There was no case against you, none at all." Selene insisted, letting herself breath properly for the first time in what seemed like an age. "They had to let you off."

"Everyone seems quite relived though, considering you all knew I'd get off." Said Harry, smiling.

Mrs Weasley wiped her face on her apron, and Fred, George and Ginny began to do a sort of war dance to a chant that went "_He got off, he got off, he got off…"_

"That's enough! Settle down!" Shouted Mr Weasley, but he too was smiling broadly. "Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry-"

"What?" Sirius said sharply, and Selene jumped. Mr Weasley cast an anxious glance at Selene, and then turned his attention back to Sirius.

_"He got off, he got off, he got off…"_

"Be quiet you three! Yes, we saw him talking to Fudge on Level Nine, then they went up to Fudge's office together. Don't worry Selene, he didn't mention you, but Dumbledore ought to know."

"Absolutely." Sirius nodded.

"Well, I'd better get going, there's a vomiting toilet in Bethnal Green waiting for me. Molly, I'll be late, I'm covering for Tonks, but Kingsley might be dropping in for dinner-"

_"He got off, he got off, he got off…"_

"That's enough – Fred – George – Ginny!" Said Mrs Weasley as Mr Weasley left the kitchen. "Harry, dear, come and sit down, you hardly ate lunch."

"HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF…"

"SHUT UP!" Roared Mrs Weasley.

* * *

After Harry returned from his hearing victorious, Sirius became distinctly more sober and surly, hardly talking to anyone outside of meals and spending an awful lot of time with Buckbeak. Sirius didn't even glare at Fred whenever he passed him in the halls, and his protective older cousin talk never came.

"Sirius, what's the matter?" Selene asked him, catching him unawares outside the drawing room one day, about three days after Harry's victory.

Sirius started, looking his little cousin up and down. "You're taller than realised." He stated, trying to push past her. "I'm fine. Leave me alone."

"You're not 'fine'." Selene pressed, running to catch up with him. "Neither am I, to that effect. Just tell me what's the matter Sirius, come on."

"Just leave me alone!" Sirius snapped at her. "You wouldn't understand what it's like to be alone Selene. Stuck somewhere for months, with only a few visitors for company."

Sighing inwardly, Selene didn't leave him alone. "I do." She insisted. "I was shut up in the Manor for years Sirius. Years. With only a house elf for company, and sometimes my little brother. So don't act like no one else knows Sirius, because people do."

Sirius turned back to his cousin, eyes blazing but his temper fading. "I'm sorry." He said curtly. "But soon this house will go back to being empty again."

"I've only got one year of school left Sirius." Selene pointed out. "Then I'll come to keep you company. It's only a year, and I'll write to you as well."

Barking out a sharp laugh, Sirius shook his head. "No, you won't come to keep me company Selene. You say that now… do you think I'm blind? I see the way Fred looks at you, and the way you look at him when you think I'm not looking. I was young once too Selene. Go, live your life. I'll be alright."

"Harry feels bad." Selene added, and Sirius stopped dead in his tracks. "Stop moping so much Sirius, please. It's making him feel worse than he already does."

"You remind me so much of Lily Potter sometimes cuz." Sirius laughed humourlessly. "She was always trying to cheer me up. Now, as I said before, leave me alone. I think the book lists have come."

They parted, Selene moving down to the room she shared with Ginny and Hermione. When she entered, Ginny passed her the letter. "Just two books for me." She explained. "_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4 _and _Defensive Magical Theory_."

Selene raised an eyebrow at the last title, peeling the flap of the envelope open. "Okay… _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 7, Advancing in Arithmancy, Master of Runes, Defensive Magical Theory_…"

"Prefect." Hermione murmured, and Ginny looked up from her booklist. "I've made Prefect."

"I knew you would!" Ginny exclaimed excitedly, getting up to hug her around the waist. "Well done Hermione! You were bound to be chosen, an absolute cert!"

Selene was still staring at her sheet of parchment in an even mixture of astonishment and terror. "Oh." She managed, before closing her mouth just as quickly.

"What's the matter?" Ginny asked, as Hermione fled the room – presumably to go and tell Ron and Harry. "Don't tell me, they've said you can take another elective for your last year at-"

Ginny lost her ability to speak too as she picked up the sheet of parchment that Selene had been staring at, a little badge the same size as Hermione's prefect badge - except it was blue and bronze not red and gold - falling off the page as she did. Then a small smile passed over her face, and she picked up the fallen badge, handed it to Selene and proceeded to drag them both up the flight of stairs to Harry and Ron's bedroom.

"I…" Hermione was saying, looking very bewildered. "I… well… wow! Well done, Ron! That's really…"

"Unexpected." George finished for her, nodding.

Ginny could bare it no longer. "Guess what!" She shouted, making everyone in the room jump, George and Fred both looking at her in surprise.

"What?" Ron asked, his eyes with this weird kind of glazed look that he normally got while looking at or eating bacon. "I'm Prefect Ginny!"

"Really?" Ginny said incredulously, ignoring Ron's glare. "Not Harry? I guess Dumbledore could have _finally _gone batty, I suppose. Anyway…" She turned to Selene, who was now staring at the badge that Ginny had passed her before. "Selene…?" She prompted.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Going slightly pink, she held up the badge she was holding so everyone could see it. "Um… okay."

Hermione was the first to react, squealing again and jumping up and down a few times on the spot. "Oh my gosh!" She squealed, running forwards to get a closer look at the badge. "Its blue… well that's to be expected isn't it? I thought so! I knew Dumbledore would make you Head Girl!"

These words rang through the room. George shook his head, smirking at Selene, Ron didn't seem to have heard, Ginny was grinning like a lunatic and Fred was in a state of perpetual shock.

Mrs Weasley backed into the room carrying a pile of freshly laundered robes. "Ginny said the booklists had come at last." She said, glancing around at all the envelopes as she made her way over to the bed and started sorting the robes into two piles. "If you give them to me I'll take them over to Diagon Alley and get your things while you're packing. Ron, I'll have to get you more pyjamas, yours are at least six inches too short, I can't believe how fast you're growing… what colour would you like?"

"Get him red and gold to match his badge." George said, still smirking.

"Match his what?" Mrs Weasley asked absently, rolling up a pair of maroon socks and placing them on Ron's pile.

George looked at Fred, expecting him to finish the sentiment for him, but his twin was still gaping at the badge in his girlfriend's hand. He sighed, shaking his head. "His prefects badge. His shiny new Prefect's badge."

George's words took a minute to reach Mrs Weasley. "His… but… Ron, you're not…?"

Ron held up his badge.

Mrs Weasley let out a shriek. "I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"

Finally finding his voice, Fred glared at his mother. "What are George and I, next door neighbours?" He asked indignantly, as his mother pushed him aside and flung her arms around her youngest son.

"Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all this worry, I'm just thrilled, oh, _Ronnie-_"

Mrs Weasley eventually went, giving Ron a parting kiss on the cheek and sniffing loudly as she left.

"I think I'm in shock." Selene stated, sitting down on the floor next to Hermione.

George happily moved across the room and punched Selene in the arm, who winced and clutched her elbow in pain. "Oh, Selene… and I thought we had influenced you…"

Hermione glared at him. "Don't be silly, it's a wonderful thing that she's got this honour." She snapped. "And you'd better watch your step from now on, you have your brother and your friend on your case of you step out of line."

"Nah, Selene doesn't care." George said airily. "Don't you Selene?"

"Um." Selene blinked a few times. "I…" She took one look at Hermione's stern face and managed a smile. "As long as you don't do anything dangerous…?"

The look on Hermione's face couldn't have been more annoyed as George patted Selene on the back. "Good Cheesecake." He said kindly. "There is hope for you yet."

* * *

Down in the basement kitchen Mrs Weasley had hung a purple banner over the heavily laden table, which read:

CONGRATULATIONS

RON AND HERMIONE AND SELENE

NEW PREFECTS AND HEAD GIRL

She looked in a better mood than she had been all holiday, and gave Selene a little hug as she walked in. "Hermione told me." She revealed. "I thought we'd have a little party, not a sit-down dinner." She told them all. "Your father and Bill are on their way, Ron. I've sent them both owls and they're _thrilled_." She added, beaming.

Fred rolled his eyes.

Sirius, Lupin, Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt were already there and Mad-Eye Moody stumped in shortly after.

The party started up, and Selene found herself almost immediately bagged by the twins, who hadn't spoken to her since the booklists had come.

"So, I'm dating the Head Girl?" Fred asked her, and Selene detected more than a hint of scorn in his voice. "Ah."

"Yes, so?" Selene snapped at him, as George backed away from them a few steps. "Is that a problem? Worried I'm going to take points off Gryffindor?"

Fred flinched. "No." He said, shaking his head. "Just a bit…"

"A bit what?" Selene asked him, closing her eyes for a second. "Does it really matter to you that much that I can't be a Head Girl?"

"Look, it's fine, okay?" Groaned Fred. "I don't care, blah blah blah. I thought we'd already got past all the petty fighting crap ages ago."

"I didn't mean it like that." Selene insisted. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay with it, that's all."

"I'm fine with it!" George cut in, but Fred gave him a quelling look. "Okay. I'll shut up now. Leave you two lovebirds to sort out your little tiff."

Fred turned back to Selene with a sigh. He reached up with one hand to brush a piece of her hair away from her face, dropping a kiss onto her nose. "I'm completely fine with it love."

"Fred-" Selene began, but Fred cut her off.

"Selene, seriously, if we have to fight about something, let's make it something worthwhile, okay?"

Selene could feel that someone was watching them, and sure enough when she turned around Sirius was glaring at Fred and Moody had his magical eye trained on them. "I'll talk to you later." She said to him, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek, at the same time whispering into his ear. "Sirius is staring at you again."

Going very pale, Fred walked over to George and Selene went over to where Tonks, Lupin and Sirius were gathered.

"Ah, aren't you just so _good_." Tonks hugged Selene, ruffling her cousin's hair. "Such a _good girl_."

Sirius choked on his Butterbeer, spluttering slightly. "Hmm, yes." He said, with a sly wink at Selene. He looked happier than he had done earlier, Selene thought. "Very good. Such a shame, I hoped you would follow in my footsteps. I can't have everything, I suppose."

"Don't encourage her." Lupin warned him. "Selene, well done. Don't listen to what either of these people say, they've never been Prefects."

"Thanks Remus." Selene smiled. "Uh, I think that's loosely what Hermione said to me earlier."

Tonks, Lupin and Sirius all laughed. "I'd hope you'd keep those two out of trouble." Lupin gestured over to where Fred and George were talking with Mundungus. "But I didn't have much luck with James and Sirius, so I wouldn't expect you to."

Tonks winked at Selene and changed her hair from its previous tomato-red to its natural colour, turning to Sirius. It occurred to Selene that no one apart from them had seen the amazing similarity between Tonks being normal and Selene. "So, Sirius, what do you think of Dumbledore's decision?'

Sirius did a double take, looking from Tonks to Selene with astonishing rapidity. "Bloody hell, you two could be sisters!" He grinned. "Remus, take a gander at this…"

Lupin reacted in much the same way as Sirius, raising his eyebrows. "That is pretty…" He began, lost for words.

Moody had just finished showing Harry what looked like an old photograph, and Sirius looked over to where Mad-Eye was. "What's that you've got there Mad-Eye?" He called, and Moody stumped over towards the group.

"Original Order of the Phoenix." He growled. "May I say well done Miss Malfoy." He barked at Selene. "You must be an exceptional dueller for Dumbledore to allow you to have such an important position."

Selene blinked. "Okay." She stated, more than a little taken aback. "Thanks Professor."

Sirius took the photo from Mad-Eye, a little smile on his face. "Ah, good times…" He said nostalgically. "Oh, there's me, and you Remus."

Tonks and Selene gathered around the photo too. A much younger Sirius waved and smiled out of the picture, next to a younger version of Lupin and two people who could only be Lily and James Potter, along with Peter Pettigrew.

His gaze hardening at the sight of the man who betrayed his best friends, Sirius shifted a few of the figures along, looking for other people. He pointed to a woman behind Lily Potter, who had a huge smile and one arm around Lupin. "Marlene McKinnon. Best friend of Lily."

"Oh, Dorcas Meadowes, she was killed by Voldemort personally." Lupin pointed at the woman next to Marlene McKinnon.

"_You'll be fine." A woman grins at me. "I'm not good with all of this Healer malarkey, that's Cas's land."_

"_Lily, you're just as good as me. What did I say about putting yourself down?"_

Selene gasped; ignoring the curious glances Sirius, Lupin and Tonks threw her. Why was she remembering this? How… just how did she even have this memory? Ws it another repressed memory like the one Dumbledore showed her part of, or had she just… forgotten.

Lily's kind, grinning face flashed in front of her vision, and Selene quickly excused herself.

"Selene?" Someone was talking to her. Come on, focus. Selene, you have to focus.

"Please."

She found herself being guided to a seat, somewhere in Grimmauld Place. She didn't know exactly where, her mind wasn't allowing her that luxury at the moment. At least she wasn't throwing up this time though.

"It's happening again." Selene choked out. "God, no, it is."

She felt a pair of arms slip around her frame, and Selene concentrated on her breathing. In, out. In, out. She wasn't alone now.

"How bad is it?" He whispered to her, almost as if he was afraid to find out. "Selene, please just tell me."

"It's like…" Selene searched for the right words – it felt like she was gagged and unable to say anything. "It's like someone's kicked me in the stomach. I have a splitting headache, but I'm not vomiting this time."

"What triggered it this time 'Lene?"

"A photo."

They were both silent, Selene regaining her control over herself and being able to see where she was for the first time.

"Thank you." She murmured, resting her head on Fred's shoulder. "It just starts to happen. On and off, I guess. It only started after the Boggart though, not before."

They could both vaguely hear chattering from downstairs, and people laughing. It was like Fred and Selene were in a parallel universe, one devoid of laughter for the moment. The room was dark and the only light came from the lamps along the street.

"Number six: Boyfriend must understand." Fred said quietly, slipping his hand into Selene's. "We'll work this out, I promise 'Lene. It's not just you anymore. You don't have to face your demons alone. I promise I will always be here for you."

They could barely see the room they were in, let alone each other, but their lips met easily, and Fred pulled Selene to him fiercely. "I love you." Selene murmured through the kiss, feeling her mind drift away again, but in a good way this time.

Mrs Weasley was crying over the selfsame Boggart that Selene had failed to destroy in the drawing room, watched on by Harry and comforted by Lupin, George was juggling Venomous Tentacula seeds in his room, Hermione was trying to get Mad-Eye to join S.P.E.W., and Ron was chattering about his broom while Ginny was learning who to turn people's hair pink. In fact, Voldemort could have jumped into Grimmauld Place at that very moment, wearing a kimono and a red nose, line dancing with Professor Dumbledore and Crookshanks, and they wouldn't have cared.

"I love you too." Fred pulled away reluctantly, realising that he hadn't taken a breath for an immeasurable amount of time.

Everything about her, he thought, everything about Selene was both imperfect and perfect at the same time. She had a tiny scar on the side of her head that was almost always hidden behind her hair. She was tall, too tall to be attractive to most. And, if you looked hard enough, traces of both her mother and her aunt Bellatrix hidden in her face. People she didn't want to know, people she didn't want to be. But her eyelids were slightly heavier-lidded than most girls, and her face lacked that sudden warmth you might find with girls like Angelina or Katie. It didn't matter though, tiny details like that didn't. Not to him.

And now she was imperfect in another way, with this strange… he didn't want to call it condition, because she wasn't that fragile or delicate. This strange _thing_.

"You have exactly twenty-six freckles on your face." Selene said eventually, and Fred chuckled under his breath.

"You have exactly thirty-seven eyelashes on your right eye." He responded, pulling her ever closer to her.

"Did you count them?"

Fred shrugged. He could barely concentrate on this conversation anyway; he was too preoccupied with the way Selene was curled up to him. "Nah, I guessed. Did you count my freckles?"

He couldn't see her face, but Fred knew that Selene was blushing as she nodded.

"Why doesn't Sirius like me that much?" He asked, running his fingers through her hair and feeling its softness beneath his fingers.

"He does like you." Selene insisted. "He's just overprotective towards me and you're the scapegoat."

"That's not fair." Fred pouted.

"It's nice he cares enough about me to be over-protective." Selene sighed, and just like that the happy atmosphere changed.

Fred rolled his eyes. "Selene, don't say things like that. Lots of people care about you. My parents love you for the love of Godric, Angelina, Alicia and Katie have inducted you into their group of elite Chasers, Tonks teases you worse than I tease Ginny, Lily's Lily, George thinks that you're the best thing since Zonko's brought out Nose-Biting Teacups, Ginny and Hermione see you as their big sister, so calm down. Holy Agrippa, I care about you too idiot. Aren't you supposed to be the smart one in this relationship? Remember, I'm your Gryffindor. I fight the battles, you do the homework and we share the snogging."

"Sorry." Selene apologised, shaking her head. "And I'm not _that _smart. Remember? T in Herbology?"

"Yes you are smart!" Fred told her. "Remember? Extra Charms lessons with Flitwick? Almost straight O's across the board at OWLs? If you're not smart Selene then I will bet all my money on the Chudley Cannon's winning this year's league."

"So you admit that the Cannons are rubbish then." Selene pointed out.

Fred thought back on what he had just said. "Wha-? Y-you little…"

"If it wasn't so dark you'd probably be tickling me." Selene laughed, interlinking her fingers with Fred's. "Do you want to have that petty argument now?"

"Only if I can see you." Fred fished for his wand with his free hand. "And… I left my wand in my room."

"Then stand up and put it on." Selene prompted.

Fred shook his head, shifting slightly to accentuate the point that Selene was basically sitting on him by now. "I would, but I don't want to move right now. That okay with you?"

"I could fall asleep like this." Yawning, Selene wrapped one of her arms around Fred's neck and planted a kiss in a vague approximation of where his cheek was. "You make an excellent pillow."

Thinking on it for a second, Fred let out a low chuckle. "I'm going to take that as a compliment, my lovely Selene."

"You'd better." Selene yawned again, burying her head into Fred's neck. "You smell like vanilla."

"Now that's a little bit weird. You smell like strawberries, if I must say something just as weird." Fred retorted, rolling his eyes.

Selene flicked her eyes upwards. "You just rolled your eyes, didn't you?" She guessed.

"Now that's just cheating. Do you have dark-resistant vision or something similar from Dad's old Muggle movies?" He queried.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are on about." Selene admitted, resting her head on Fred's chest so her voice wasn't muffled.

"Right." Fred sat up slightly. "I have a deal. You show me all of your favourite Muggle music, and I will go through all my favourite Muggle films with you. Does that sound fair?"

Selene nodded into his shirt. "I'd love that." She told him honestly. "And thank you. I know you say that there's nothing to be thankful for, but there is. Everything."

When Sirius entered his father's old study later that night, meaning to give it a once over before they all moved on to the next room, he certainly wasn't expecting to find his cousin curled up on the old sofa, curled up with Fred Weasley.

Normally when faced with this kind of situation, Sirius would probably douse them both in cold water, but for once he relented. For one thing, they were both soundly asleep. Also, Selene had left in quite a hurry earlier, and it was evident that Fred had calmed her down.

So, with a resigned sigh, Sirius edged his way around the edge of the study, staying as far away from the sleeping pair as possible.

Selene's choice in boyfriends wasn't horrendous, he thought to himself as he picked up a discarded book from earlier. At least he was a prankster.


	40. Chapter 39: TT and FF

**I am back! With another chapter of epic proportions! **

**Well, not really, but it's the Hogwarts Express! Back to Hogwarts already! I included some 'girly' stuff in here, but I have no idea what normal girls talk about so I took a wild guess. Please let me know f I'm wrong, or right.**

**I have a question addressed to me through a review: from Guest (Jessica). How long will this story last, months wise? Well, to everyone who's wondering, I have no idea. Well, I started in May, and that's… three months ago. One book per three months, three books to go… that's nine months. Add in writing time… about eleven months? Not sure, that's just a rough estimate.**

**Thanks to Guest (Jessica), HT118, Gurl5678 and Charlyxx!**

**Also, I have got** **past 100 follows, 150 reviews, 70 favourites and 25k views! When I started this, I had no idea that it'd get so popular, thank you.**

**But anyway, please review!**

* * *

"And the riddles in the pages leave at too much to guess, and the worry cracks a fracture from your hip to your chest." - Full Circle by Half Moon Run

* * *

Chapter 39: Tumbling Trunks and Freaky Friends

"Has anyone seen my copy of Beginner's Arithmancy?" Hermione said impatiently, her trunk half-open.

Ginny looked around the emptying room, shaking her head. "Maybe you left it in the drawing room?"

Hermione nodded, and immediately ran off in search of her book. Ginny shook her head at Selene in exasperation. "That girl." She said simply, heaving her trunk up with a grimace on her face.

"Would you like some help?" Selene asked, picking up her wand and levitating Ginny's trunk into the air. "Ah, bit heavy… _Polycoptus_!"

When Selene let the trunk down again and passed it to Ginny, it was as light as a feather. "Thanks." Ginny said gratefully, now able to pick it up with ease. "Fred and George would have just levitated it, this is a lot cooler."

Selene went vaguely pink, burying her head into a pair of jeans that she was transferring to her trunk. She cast the same spell over her own trunk, and picked it up too. "Let's go Ginny, I think Mrs Weasley's going berserk downstairs."

Mrs Weasley was going berserk downstairs, banging frying pans around in an effort to make her more stubborn children make up, and the noise was tremendous even from the first floor.

"Look out below!" A chirpy voice called from the third floor, and Selene and Ginny shared a look.

"George, what d-"

Ginny was cut off when two trunks came hurtling down the stairs towards her and Selene. Selene managed to jump out of the way just in time, but Ginny was caught out and went tumbling down three flights of stairs, landing with a thump on her bum at the bottom.

"Ginny!" Selene exclaimed, tripping over her own feet in haste to get to the younger girl, who was now spread-eagled on her back. "Are you alright?"

"I'm… fine." Ginny struggled, accepting Selene's offer of help without protest.

Mrs Weasley came running out of the kitchen, her bashing of saucepans and plates forgotten as she rushed towards her daughter. "Ginny, are you alright dear?" She said, in a panicked tone. "What happened? Whose trunks are they?"

There was no need for Mrs Weasley to ask, as fortunately both trunks bore the initials FGW and GFW respectively.

"BOYS!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, and the twins appeared, rather sheepishly, on the first floor. "WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? YOU COULD HAVE GIVEN HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU FOOLS!"

"I'm fine Mum-"

"YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR ANYBODY, DO YOU? YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO MINDLESSLY ENCHANT OBJECTS LIKE THAT WITHOUT KNOWING WHO'S ON THE RECEIVING END!"

"We just wanted to save a bit of time-"

"THAT'S NO REASON TO-"

"FILTH! MUDBLOODS! BLOOD-TRAITORS, SHAME OF MY FLESH! MY HOUSE, PUT TO WASTE AND RUIN! HALF-BREEDS, MUTANTS-"

Someone, presumably Sirius or Lupin, drew the curtains back across Sirius's mother's portrait again, and Walpurga's furious screeches were silenced. Mrs Weasley also calmed down, giving Fred and George a parting glare, before walking back into the kitchen.

"Are you okay Ginny?" George asked concernedly, moving to his little sister. "We just wanted to save a bit of time, not to knock you over."

Ginny nodded, biting her cheek to hold in laughter. "Completely fine, your aim was a bit off, wasn't it?"

* * *

Breakfast was a furiously fast affair, after Moody finally decided that waiting for Podmore was just going to make them late for the Hogwarts Express, and began to pace the hall impatiently, his peg leg thumping every other step.

Harry, Ron and Hermione went first, as Harry needed the most protection, being the Boy-Who-Lived, and Fred, George, Selene and Ginny left only a few minutes after, along with Lupin.

"Come on, Mad-Eye nearly made us late." Lupin said anxiously, looking up and down the street. "We've got a twenty-minute walk to Kings Cross."

The first leg of the walk was completed in a comfortable silence, with Fred and George pulling ridiculous faces to try and get Ginny to laugh, or at least giggle.

As they were all dressed like Muggles, they didn't look out of place in the middle of London, but still Selene had the niggling feeling that they still stuck out like a sore thumb. Lupin seemed to also have these reservations, making the group take several detours through dark alleyways and back passages, once he decided that the best way to go would be through a shopping centre.

But finally, after what seemed like years, they reached Kings Cross.

"Bloody hell." Fred swore, as they nearly lost sight of Lupin through the crowd. "It's never been like this before, I wonder if something special's going on?"

Selene nearly walked right into a huge billboard that proudly proclaimed 'Worcester Warriors vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers match! 1st September 1995', but Lupin had slowed down enough to be able to tug her around it.

"Thanks." She said, relieved. "I can barely see my fingers in front of my face here."

They reached the barrier with only a little time to spare, leaning against the brick and falling through with ease.

Lupin immediately walked over to where Moody, Mrs Weasley and Tonks were stood, along with the trio.

"No trouble?" Moody growled.

"Nothing."

"Still going to be reporting Sturgis to Dumbledore. That's the second time he's not turned up in a week. Getting as unreliable as Mundungus."

"Well, look after yourselves." Lupin said, shaking hands all around, lingering his gaze on Harry for a split second warily. "You too Harry. Be careful."

'Yeah, keep your head down and your eyes peeled." Said Moody, shaking Harry's hand too. "And don't forget, all of you – careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't put it in a letter at all."

"It's been great meeting all of you." Said Tonks, hugging Hermione and Ginny, turning to Selene. "Oh, nearly forgot, got a letter for you from Mum and Dad." She passed her cousin a slightly crumpled letter. "We'll see you soon, I expect."

The warning whistle sounded, and Tonks gave Selene a quick hug and a wink. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." She whispered, with a grin.

"Quick, quick." Said Mrs Weasley distractedly, hugging them at random. "Write… be good… if you've forgotten anything we'll send it on… on to the train now, hurry…"

A shaggy haired black dog placed its front paws on Harry's shoulders, then let go, bounding over to Selene and licking her.

"Ew, that's disgusting." Selene complained. "Don't _ever _do that again."

The dog barked something that might have been a laugh, before bounding back over to Mrs Weasley.

"He makes it his life's duty to embarrass me." Selene muttered, elbowing George as he started to laugh. "Don't laugh, please."

George held up his hands in surrender. "Promise." He said, not sounding at all sincere.

"He shouldn't have come with us." Hermione said, in a worried voice as the platform disappeared out of sight.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Oh, lighten up. He hasn't seen daylight for months, poor bloke."

"Well." Fred exhaled, clapping his hands together. "Can't stand around chatting all day, we've got business to discuss with Lee. See you later – coming Selene?"

Selene shook her head, pointing to the blue and bronze 'Head Girl' badge that she had affixed to the front of her t-shirt earlier that day, at the insistence of Hermione. "I have to go to the Prefects carriage, but I'll see you later."

Fred shrugged, kissing her and disappearing down the corridor with George. Ron flinched, looking rather green.

"Can you two please stop doing that?" He asked, shuddering.

"What?" Selene asked innocently. "Um, Ron, Hermione, do you want to walk to the Prefect's carriage with me?"

"Fine." Harry said, nodding. "Well, I – I might see you three later then."

Ron, Hermione and Selene dragged their trunks, a caged Pigwidgeon and Cress and Crookshanks towards the engine end of the train, Ron with a glum expression. "Wish we didn't have to do this." He groaned.

"It's not bad." Selene insisted. "Just a quick meeting, really quick, more to get to know the other Prefects than anything else. I'll be running it with whoever the Head Boy is, so I'll try and make it short."

"It's not that." Ron looked shifty, rubbing the back of his neck. "Harry… well, I feel bad about leaving him."

"I hope the Head Boy isn't a Slytherin." Hermione admitted, as they stopped outside the very first carriage. "That wouldn't be good for any of us."

"It won't be." Selene assured. "The Slytherin Prefects for our year are Marcus Flint and Rosalie Cambridge, and Flint would be the last choice for anyone."

All of the Prefects looked up as Ron, Hermione and Selene entered, many of them nodding appreciatively as they saw Selene's badge, a few getting up to shake her hand and give her their congratulations.

Selene scanned the group of new Prefects, which were Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw, a boy she vaguely remembered as Ernie Macmillan and a girl she didn't recognise for Hufflepuff, but it was the Slytherin Prefects that made her heart lurch.

"Oh, no." She breathed, closing her eyes. She should have guessed that Snape would choose her brother, and Pansy would have to be his female Prefect. "This isn't good."

Hermione and Ron didn't look pleased at this new development either, reluctantly taking seats between the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins.

"So, you're Head Girl then?" Selene looked up in surprise, to see Andrew Jones, a Hufflepuff smiling at her. "I'm Head Boy, I could've guessed that it'd be you."

"Thanks." Selene exhaled thankfully. "So, uh, do you want to start? I don't really know what to say to-"

Andrew nodded, his eyes flicking over to where Draco was gaping at his sister. "It looks a bit awkward between you two, I'll try to break the ice." He raised his voice. "Right! Settle down, all of you, settle down. My name is Andrew Jones, a Hufflepuff, and I'm Head Boy this year. This is Selene Malfoy, a Ravenclaw, and she'll be your Head Girl. We'd like to say welcome back to the sixth and seventh year prefects, and welcome to the team to the new fifth years. So, fifth years, can I ask your names?"

It transpired that the Hufflepuff girl was called Hannah Abbot, and she looked between Draco and Selene in surprise when she put two and two together.

"Good." Andrew managed a smile, but he still looked extremely nervous. "So, only senior Prefects can dock points – that is Prefects in seventh year only – but you can all place students in detention, that is, not including other Prefects, and you all have duties that include helping Hagrid with the Christmas decorations-" The Slytherins smirked at this, "Patrolling the halls at night, patrolling the carriage corridors while on the Hogwarts Express and sometimes running minor errands for Professors. All got that?"

The carriage gave a general murmur, and Andrew turned to Selene. "Ah, would you like to say anything?" He asked her politely, but she could tell that he thought she'd chicken out.

"Sure." Selene took a single step forward and cleared her throat. "Yes. I'd… I'd like to say something that will probably win me no favours. I expect that you all know that, in rights, it probably shouldn't be Andrew standing up here with me." She swallowed, as the atmosphere in the room turned ice-cold. "But the fact remains that one of us was murdered last year. And nothing anyone can say will change the fact that Cedric died at the hands… at the hands of Lord Voldemort."

Everyone shuddered at the use of his name, and the Slytherins were glaring up at Selene. But she was on a roll now, the words coming from seemingly nowhere. "I myself know just how important house unity is now. It's not just something that one, maybe two of our Professor's support, it's a real, breathing thing. And if we can't pull together in a time like this, with war inevitable, then there's no hope for Hogwarts. So please, listen to what I have to say. If we want to get out of this war alive, then we have to fight as one, not as four."

Selene swallowed again, as she looked around the carriage for emphasis. "I… I know first hand just how difficult this will be, but it's not impossible. People look to us, the Prefects for advice and support, so we can ultimately start this."

There was silence as everyone took this speech in, then Ernie Macmillian began to clap loudly and proudly, saying 'Bravo! Bravo!' This was quickly picked up by the Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors, but the Slytherins were still glowering across at their new Head Girl.

"Thank you." Selene finished, in a small voice, biting her lip and going ten shades of red she didn't know existed.

Unwittingly catching Draco's gaze across the carriage, Selene froze for a second, before backing out of the carriage door and walking away before her nerves got the better of her. She couldn't talk to him, not now, not with all these people around.

It would be stupid for her to think that nothing would change between them now, as that was inevitable. After all, Draco had said as much to her that night, when he took her arm at the top of the staircase and complimented her in an almost offhand fashion. He'd listened to her explanation before Nott had butted in, and although he had tried to dissuade her it was clear that he had listened.

The less people that knew about what had happened over the beginning of the summer, the better.

"AND WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

Selene jumped, walking right into three girls, all blocking the corridor. They didn't move in the slightest, instead sharing looks.

"Oh, come on, it's just us silly!" Katie exclaimed, giggling. "And… OHMIGOSH YOU'RE HEAD GIRL!"

"Yes!" Angelina punched the air, holding out one hand to Alicia. "Allie, you owe me three Galleons pronto."

Alicia rolled her eyes, but fished in her pockets for the money. "I won the Olivie bet remember."

"Olivie?" Selene asked, blinking at her Gryffindor friends. "Is that a new type of sweet?"

"No silly." Alicia rolled her eyes again, seizing one of Selene's arms and pulling her inside their carriage. "That's our Oliver/Katie ship name! They got together (_finally_) over the holidays." Katie giggled and blushed at this. "And we have more ship names! Wanna here 'em?"

Maybe unwisely, but Selene was so happy to be back with her friends that her normal sense had gone out of the window, she agreed.

"Right." Alicia sat cross-legged on one of the seats, opposite Selene, Katie and Angelina sitting either side of Selene. "The ones that are successful at the moment – Olivie which is Oliver/Katie, then its Frelene which is obviously you and Fred. The one we are trying to get together is Georgelina. Think you can help with that?"

"Did you spend your entire summer thinking those up Allie?" Selene asked incredulously, shaking her head as Alicia nodded. "Oh well. Well, from what I gather I think George fancies you Angie. I'm not sure though, as most of my holiday was spent-"

"Snogging?" Katie suggested, ignoring the elbow in the side that Angelina gave her. "What? What have I done?"

"Why did you even break up with Mr Fred Weasley Angie?" Alicia asked suddenly, unfolding her legs and staring at her friend's braided black hair. "We all thought you two were perfectly happy."

Angelina snorted. "What made you think that? He basically cut me dead at the Yule Ball – not that that turned out to be all bad as George helped me out there – and he was more fussed about his then-rivalry with Selene than me. Oh, and after Christmas he was so hung up over Selene. _That _much was clear."

"Anything from the trolley dearies?" The trolley witch (no one knew her real name, probably not even Dumbledore) asked them all, smiling around at the girls in the carriage.

"Ooh, yes please!" Katie bounced up. "Can I have ten chocolate frogs and three liquorice wands please?"

"That's our Kate, the chocolate fiend." Alicia sighed as Katie ripped open one of her chocolate frogs eagerly. "If you get Morgana, can you give her to me? I've been collecting since I was six and I still don't have her."

"She's not the only chocolate fiend I know. R-" Selene stopped herself instantly. She had nearly let slip that she'd been around Professor Lupin over the summer, and considering that the Order was meant to be under wraps for as long as possible that wouldn't turn out well. So, biting back her comment, Selene thought of a few other words that would cover up her near-mistake. "Right then. Fred asked me to come and find him after the meeting, so I guess I'd better get going."

Katie chucked Selene a chocolate frog on her way out. "Have fun dear!" She said, in a high-pitched voice. "Be back by eleven!"

"Yes Mum!" Selene grinned, ducking the chocolate frog that Katie chucked at her head.

"Ah!" Fred exclaimed as Selene walked into their compartment. "The woman of the moment! Head Girl of Hogwarts, Selene Narcissa Malfoy!"

Him, George and Lee all broke into instant applause, and Selene groaned audibly and sat down by the window.

"Do be quiet. What did you want me for anyway?"

The twins shared a look. "Look at this." George passed Selene a large, violently orange poster. "We're planning to post it up in the Gryffindor common room."

Selene scanned it for a second, her eyebrows rising with every paragraph. "No, just… no. You can't test on first years!"

"But _Selene_…" George whined. "We need the _money _to set up our _joke shop_…"

"This says that you're going to be paying them to test your products." Selene pointed to the line that said just that. "How is that earning money?"

They all looked incredibly crestfallen at that remark, George taking the poster back off Selene and frowning at it like it had just punched Selene in the face. "Okay then." George thought aloud, rolling up the poster and stowing it away. "Tell me what else we should do."

Selene shrugged. "You could use me as a tester, I guess." She suggested. "You don't have to pay me, for one thing, and I'm not a gullible first year either."

George and Lee looked like they were beginning to consider this idea, but Fred's expression darkened and he clenched his fists. "We are _not _testing on you." Fred insisted, his voice dropping so it almost sounded like one of Moody's growls. "It's too dangerous. We don't even know how some of these things affect people. Me, George, Lee, we're fine with it – in fact we're used to it by now, but it's too dangerous for you love, seriously."

"Fred, you can't tell me of all people that it's too dangerous." Selene pointed out, blowing her hair out of her face and cursing herself for not bothering to tie it back that morning. "And I know that I'm not as brave as you, but I'm smart enough to keep myself out of trouble."

"I… I just don't think…" Fred said slowly, looking at George and giving him a significant look. "I – we – can't risk it. Not after…"

Lee looked around at the three of them curiously, but decided not to pursue the subject further. When even Fred was challenging something that him himself would do willingly, then that was the time that you stopped asking questions.

"Not after you became Head Girl." Fred continued. "I think we're going to have to keep rule-breaking to a minimum. No more night-time Hogsmede's visits."

"I understand." Selene sighed. "But it's not like the second you turn away I'm going to break again. I'm fine."

She added 'for now' in her mind.

"Any more ideas?" George prompted gently, flicking his eyes across to Lee to check that he wasn't too suspicious yet.

"Keep testing them yourselves." That was all she could come up with. "I'm sorry, I've been stuck in a house with you two too long, my creativity has long since left me."

George stuck his tongue out at Selene playfully, rolling his eyes to complete the gesture. "Ah, I'm sorry Cheesecake, my love, but I think you have those roles reversed."

"And I am sorry my dear Georgie-pie, but if you think that then we might need to get your brain looked at."

"_Aguamenti!_" Lee bellowed, dousing George in a spray of ice-cold water.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" George swore, trying to squeeze the water out of his hair.

Lee smirked. "Just thought you might need some water for that scorching burn."

George glowered darkly at both Lee, who was snickering quietly, and Selene, who was hiding a ghost of a grin behind her hand. "One day…" He muttered, casting a drying charm over himself. "One day, I will beat you both into the dirt…"

"What's that George?" Lee asked innocently, cupping one hand around his ear. "Didn't quite catch that."

Sensing that this might be the opportune time for a change of subject, Selene sat up straighter. "Are you going to be doing the Quidditch commentaries again this year?" She asked him, and as predicted the boys all stopped squabbling.

"Of course!" Lee exclaimed, thumping Fred on the back with a little more force than necessary. "I have thought up lots of incredibly interesting tidbits of information to add in – that is if McGonagall lets me." He added, rolling his eyes.

Fred scowled at Lee, scooting away from him and predictably closer towards Selene. "Watch it." He frowned, getting close to pouting.

Selene pretended to check her non-existent watch, noting that the sky had darkened to a dark blue colour in the time that she had been holed up with the three lunatic boys. "Oh, look at the time!" She said lightly, standing up with as much grace as she possessed (which wasn't any). "We'll be at Hogsmede soon and Lily will kill me if I don't drop in to say hello to her before we arrive."

Lee shuddered. "Okay, go to face the wrath of the freaky emo goth girl who is somehow your cousin."

"I'll be sure to tell her that you said hello."

The expression of horror on Lee's face was almost comical, but Selene chose to ignore his protests as she backed out of the compartment door.

_I laugh, a sound I haven't made since Father's anger swelled up again, and my friends take notice and think that I am alright now._

_ "You okay Selene?" Cho asks me, her face bright with laughter. It's futile, as she knows the answer._

_ Yes._

_ "Yeah, I'm fine Cho." I insist. _

_ The train begins to screech to a halt, and I get up in surprise. "Why are we stopping?" I ask the other girls in our carriage. Everyone shrugs. "We can't be at the station yet?"_

_ With a hiss of pain, I pull back my splayed fingers from the frosting-over window. What? No, this is impossible. Even in September, the night temperatures never hit negatives, so why is there frost beneath my palm?_

_ Then it hits me. The emptiness that I remember from before. The Dementors, they must be here to look for Sirius Black. But why would he be on this train? If he were a Death Eater, then he would be smart enough to know that it was too easy to search. Is that why they are searching the train?_

_ The memories, the worst memories of all hit me like a flood. Cho is shaking opposite me, Marietta is frozen to her spot, her lipstick dropping to the floor without a second thought, but soon I can't see their faces at all._

_ It hurts… it hurts so much…_

_ FATHER, PLEASE! HE'S DONE NOTHING!_

_ Feeling like I can do nothing, words coming out of my mouth that I don't want to say. _

_ Mother sobbing over a letter that I heard her read._

_ Tears streaming down my face as I realise that I have failed my parents._

_ I'm hurting, inside and out, a pain that makes screams and sobs, and I can't stop it, I'm breaking and I don't know what to do-_

_ When I wake up, there is a man kneeling next to me cautiously. "Eat this." He passes me a bar of chocolate. "It'll make you feel better."_

_ I cautiously nibble on a single square. Cho, Marietta, they are all staring at me like I am different somehow. "W-w-w-what h-happened?" I stutter helplessly._

_ "Careful now. You were screaming, and then you hit your head on the wall of the carriage." The man says to me carefully, helping me stand up. Sure enough, when I brush my fingers along my hairline, I feel warm blood there. "You'll need to get that checked out by Madam Pomfrey."_

_ "We'll take her." Cho cuts in, sensing my reluctance to be picked out of a large crowd before the feast. I am not ready for that yet. "After the feast."_

_ "Make sure that you do." The man says sternly, extending a hand for me to shake. He is dressed in shabby robes, the opposite of my father. That just makes me like him more. "Professor Lupin, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. And you are…?"_

_ I feel I can trust this man. He smiles at me warmly, and he helped me. So I tell him, which is a bigger place of trust than he will know. "I'm Selene Malfoy sir." I say politely._

_ He blinks at me, and I know he is trying to put me against my parents, find a resemblance among my abnormalities. Then he says something that I truly do not understand in the slightest. "Yes…" He murmurs, looking me up and down with sadness in his eyes. "I remember you…"_

_ "Excuse me sir, but I've never met you before." I stammer, trying to put on the voice that Mother uses so often. _

_ Professor Lupin looks at me with almost hurt in his eyes. I instantly feel the urge to run, far, far away from this strange man that claims that he knows me but I somehow have never met before in my whole, short life. "Neither have I." He admits, nodding at me. "I mean I remember you in the purely hearing sense."_

_ "Okay." I push my reservations and curiousness away, managing a smile for my new Professor. "I look forward to your lessons Professor Lupin."_

_ "I look forward to teaching you Miss Malfoy." He scrunches his face up for a spilt second, and then the millpond is calm again. There is no trace of his expression. Then he says something under his breath, and I am the only one in the carriage close enough to hear him. "You must be an extraordinary witch."_

**I have an important announcement to make!**

** I would like to do something nice for the fiftieth chapter (which is ten away, I think :D), and I decided on a Q and A thing. **

** Basically, you PM or review any questions you would like me or any of the characters to answer (not just my OCs, canon characters too) and I'll answer them ALL! Yes, ALL of them! I am not kidding! (Unless you ask a question really important to the future plotline, then there's no way I'll answer it truthfully).**

** That's not all! I found a couple of chapters if my original story for this, and would anyone like me to post a little bit (just a few paragraphs tacked onto an Authors Note.)? **

** In case you were wondering, my original idea was that Selene was still at Beauxbatons in the fourth year, and she became champion instead of Fleur. Apart from that the plotline was basically the same. I eventually decided that I wanted Selene to have more interaction with both Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, so she transferred in her third year. **

** But, you can send questions and stuff when you want, and I'll answer the smaller ones in the chapters leading up to 50, and then the ones I like the best in chapter 50. The sillier, the better in my opinion! I am very immature.**

** I think that's a long enough author's note. Remember to leave your comments on the chapter as well!**

** Eleanor xxx**


	41. Chapter 40: Seducing The Giant Squid

**Hello! I'm sorry about the late update, but I gave it a tad longer to stack up some questions. Got some good ones too.**

**But, anyway, those questions shall be answered at the end of the chapter in my second authors note. Remember to keep sending them in! Remember, strange and weird makes me uber happy!**

**Thank you to hidoineko - no, I didn't know that! Hillo! Jam! I love random facts like that! And wow, you can read my chapters over and over? Hope this one's up to scratch! **

**Elena (what an awesome name! My name's pronounced like that – x2!) – Bacon is amazing, yeah. And my spelling mistakes are generally typos, that I will eventually go back and correct. Hopefully. And in answer to your second one, thanks for the feedback. I'm not good at writing stuff like that for characters that are perpetually hyper in the books, but I'll try to improve from now on. But yay! I can write the twins otherwise, that is a worry for me. **

**Guest (Jessica) – don't kill Fred or Sirius? Well, I'll think about it. I haven't really thought about Sirius living before, that'd make the last two books AU, but if I get enough interest I'll think about it. **

**Emmamaysie (x2!), that happens to me too sometimes. Glad it came back up. HT118, well. Is she an actual Malfoy? Is she in fact Selene Potter? Well, I will leave you to think on that. But yes, she kind of knew Lily and James. Kind of. **

**See, I'm writing individual review replies today! Anyway, please review!**

**Did anyone see Doctor Who? OH MY GOD! I LOVE YOU STEVEN MOFFAT! **

* * *

"Then the door was open and the wind appeared, the candles blew then disappeared." (Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult

* * *

Chapter 40: Seducing the Giant Squid

It was only when Selene entered the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast that she remembered that it would be her last.

That was weird, considering that Angelina, Alicia and Katie had spoken of little else in the carriage ride up to Hogwarts, but then again it was easy to ignore chatter like that after it's been repeated for the tenth time.

Selene almost caught herself sitting down next to Cho, but the scornful look the girl in question threw her put any stop to that. Marietta sidled closer to Cho, putting an arm around her shoulders and glaring at Selene with as much venom as she could muster. Was it stupid for her to have hoped that Cho would have come round in the holidays? Evidently it was.

So Selene sat next to Luna, and she felt her face burn bright red, as the flavour of the month swiftly became Selene Malfoy's public shunning from the two girls she had been most friendly with the previous year.

"Harry can see Thestrals." Luna said absent-mindedly, handing Selene a copy of _The Quibbler_. "Page 57. Daddy's done a lot of research into that."

Struggling to take this new information in with whispers and stares still following her every move, Selene blinked, frowned, smiled then rubbed her temples carefully. "Okay, Luna? When did you meet Harry?"

"On the train. Hermione Granger was a bit rude." Luna said, still in her normal airy tone with a bit of a sharp edge. "She's very narrow-minded, I think that's why she was placed in Gryffindor."

_Merlin, do all my friends have reservations towards one another? _Selene thought, scanning the Top Table while she thought of a suitable answer. "That's nice." She said absently, her eyes flicking from Professor Grubby-Plank to an unfamiliar woman in a hideous pink cardigan.

The unfamiliar woman caught Selene's stare and smiled sickeningly at her, in a way that made her stomach lurch. Her 'smile' made her look even more like an overgrown toad.

"That's our new Defense teacher." Luna explained for Selene.

Selene had vaguely registered this in some deep confine of her brain, but somehow Luna stating the fact made it all the more real. "I… I think that's Dolores Umbridge." She corrected. "Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic. F-Father talks about her sometimes."

"Wonder why she's here." Luna pondered aloud, slipping on a huge pair of bright pink glasses. "Spectrespecs." She said, in answer to Selene's unspoken question. "They help you see Wrackspurts."

As Luna went on to describe the various doings of Wrackspurts that she had known in her life, Selene rested her head on one hand and gazed across at the red and gold Gryffindor table, smiling at Katie when she turned around to grin at her Ravenclaw friend. Maybe her seventh year _would _be okay, and Cho…

Well, maybe Cho would come with time.

But even as Selene drifted off into a half-doze, her eyes still open, she wondered what she would feel like if Fred died, if she was in Cho's position right now. Cho and Cedric had always had a strong relationship, and many times Selene had believed that they were made for each other.

It is an ugly truth that when you find the person that you will unconditionally love for eternity everything seems to come second to them. Selene didn't think of it that way, naturally, as even after nine months of dating she still expected Fred to think of his pranks and jokes and ways to annoy Filch before her, but Ravenclaws dedicate themselves to puzzling out life and so Selene knew that it had to be fundamentally true underneath.

And Selene knew in her heart that she had put Cho and her other friends second last year. Cho had to be hurting in a way that Selene could only guess about, and all she had been concerned about was herself over the holidays.

What would happen if Fred did…?

* * *

"First years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students – and a few of our older students ought to know that by now, too." Professor Dumbledore began, and Selene bit back a grin. He was no doubt referring to Fred and George, Harry Ron and Hermione among others. "Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch's office door."

Selene made the mistake of glancing behind her at the Gryffindor table at that point, and colouring considerably when she noticed that Fred was smirking at her. "We own all of them." He mouthed to her cheerily.

"We have two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was a round of polite but unenthusiastic applause, led by Professor Dumbledore, during which Selene narrowed her eyes and exhaled heavily, knowing from the conversations briefly overheard in Grimmauld Place that Umbridge was the only woman Professor Dumbledore could get for the job.

A guy with Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head, a fraud, a werewolf (who was Selene's favourite Defence teacher by far, despite her less-than-stellar scores that year) and a Death Eater didn't bode well for whoever cropped up next.

"Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the-"

"_Hem hem_."

Professor Dumbledore broke off there, turning to look enquiringly at Professor Umbridge. She was standing up, obviously unclear as to how things were done at Hogwarts.

As Professor Umbridge walked to the front, it became apparent that she was not much taller standing than sitting, and her pink, girlish appearance combined with her pouching eyes and mouse-brown hair – Selene thanked her genetics silently for making her hair a darker shade than that of Professor Umbridge's – made her look like a twisted version of someone's maiden aunt.

"Thank you, Headmaster." Professor Umbridge simpered, in a tone that made Selene's stomach lurch again. "For those kind words of welcome."

Her voice was high-pitched and breathy, sounding much too little girlish for her age. Selene blinked several times, before Luna pinched her arm. "It's real." The younger girl observed quietly.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled, and her teeth reminded Selene vaguely of Sirius's old Wanted posters. "And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"

Selene couldn't contain her laughter, but transformed it into a cough before anyone could pick her up on it. No one looked happy at being addressed like a five-year-old, especially her fellow Ravenclaws, who all looked disgusted.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

It looked like barely anyone could take Umbridge at least semi-seriously, and across the hall Fred and George were mouthing things to one another, with Lily taking the opportunity to fling a few of her dirtiest gestures at the Professor.

With another funny cough, Professor Umbridge continued in a much more clipped tone. "The Minister for Magic had always considered the education of young witches and wizards of vital importance…"

As much as she tried, Selene just couldn't focus on Umbridge's speech, the words sounding mangled and slightly mixed up as her mind drifted onto other things that she deemed more important, like trying to remember exactly what her father had said about Dolores Umbridge before, and whether the smile she had shot Selene was coincidental or whether Umbridge knew her position.

She couldn't rule out that her father had been behind the group of people that got Umbridge to Hogwarts – after all he was just as against Dumbledore and Harry as Fudge; if not more so.

Selene was overcome with the urge to vomit, but she pushed it away and closed her eyes, resting her head in the palm of one hand and mindlessly tracing patterns into the Ravenclaw table.

Next to her, Luna buried her head in _The Quibbler_, Cho and Marietta were whispering and giggling about something, Cho shooting furtive glares at Selene every so often. On the Gryffindor table, Angelina, Alicia and Katie were having silent staring contests with the twins and Hermione was predictably hooked on Umbridge's every word.

Last year, she was happy, looking forward to seeing Fleur again after three years apart, more worried about how she was going to juggle her six NEWT subjects than anything else.

Something felt like change in the air. There was an electric subsidence to the oxygen, like it had been spiked. It seemed to buzz.

But this time, unlike when Selene was lying on her back in her bedroom, staring up at the ceiling and imagining what it would be like to have someone with her, brushing her hair back off her face and talking to her about random, daily, monotonous everyday things that would be boring to anyone but her, she didn't ignore it.

She didn't let it fly past her, slip through her fingers easily. She reached up and grabbed it, and didn't let it fly away.

This time, she would be on top.

Professor Dumbledore began to clap, and Selene started, realising that Umbridge had concluded her speech and was now sitting back down again. She managed to clap for a few moments, as was expected of the Head Girl, but not many other people were bothering.

"Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held on the second week back…"

"First years, over here!" Selene called in as cheery a voice as she could muster with the feeling that Professor Umbridge was watching her every move. "First years!"

The new fifth year Prefects noticed and started to copy Selene's actions, trying to gather the group of new students into a place where they could begin to lead them up to Ravenclaw tower.

"Ah, Miss Malfoy!" Professor Flitwick called across the groups of students making their way towards their common rooms, still standing up amongst the teachers so he could be seen despite his height.

"Can you take them?" Selene said quickly to Padma Patil, who nodded and went about to pass this information on to her male counterpart, a smile on her face that suggested that to be picked for a job by the Head Girl was one of the greatest honours Hogwarts could bestow.

Picking her way through the last few stragglers in the Great Hall, Selene walked up to Professor Flitwick. "Yes, Professor?" She asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

"_Ahem ahem._" Umbridge coughed, making Selene jump and Professor Flitwick spread a deepening scowl across his normally cheerful face. Even when he had been the subject of pranks and jokes, he had never looked anywhere near this furious. "Thank you, Professor Flitwick." She continued, in her sickening high-pitched voice, turning her focus from the Head of Ravenclaw to Selene. "I understand you are the Head Girl for this year?"

Selene looked around, expecting Andrew to be standing beside her, but she was alone with Professor Flitwick and Umbridge. "Uh… yes, yes that's me." She managed, regaining her concentration and letting her questions slip away for now.

"And your name would be?" Now she was up close, Selene could see that Umbridge's sickly smile was purely for appearances, it didn't reach her eyes.

"Selene Malfoy, Professor."

Umbridge's smile faded, and it was now that Selene became sure that her father had 'spoken' to her. "Professor Flitwick." She looked Selene up and down distastefully, like the mere sight of her gave her a bad stomachache. She turned to the tiny Charms Professor abruptly. "Are you sure that Miss Malfoy is the right person for this prestigious position?"

Professor Flitwick looked taken aback. "But of course Dolores." He said in his squeaky little voice, casting a winning smile at Selene. "She is a very responsible and honest person, and there is no student in this school that I trust more."

Flushing pink at the compliment, Selene shook her head quickly, but before she could get any words in Umbridge got there first. "I have heard… reports." She said, her smile flickering at the corners of her mouth. "I must ask Professor Flitwick, did you know that Miss Malfoy is in fact the cousin of the escaped criminal Sirius Black and two Azkaban inmates? Surely a girl of that… social background cannot make a good candidate for Prefect, let alone Head Girl!"

Umbridge chuckled breathily, in a way that was not at all sincere. On the other hand, Professor Flitwick looked positively mutinous. "Dolores, we cannot judge students by their family!" He protested. "Selene is the furthest you could get from Sirius Black, and having taught her for close to five years and also been her Head of House for just as long, surely I am the best judge of character in this conversation?"

"Well, I trust that you know what you are doing." Umbridge concluded, her voice overly cheerful and one million percent fake. "I will not intrude on your duties anymore Miss Malfoy."

Once Umbridge had walked out of the Great Hall, Professor Flitwick turned to Selene with concern evident in his eyes. "Miss Malfoy, I want you to know that I am immensely pleased that you have become Head Girl, but you must tread carefully with Professor Umbridge." He warned, checking behind him like Umbridge might be eavesdropping. "Professor McGonagall let me know what happened to you over the holiday." He whispered.

"So you were-" Selene began, but Professor Flitwick hushed her quickly.

"No, not here." He said briskly, still in a hushed tone. "But I know that it might be hard for you in your current circumstances to keep going as you were, but I believe that it would be better for you to try to convince Professor Umbridge that you are in fact as trustworthy as you are."

Selene opened her mouth to ask him something, but she was shushed once again.

"I expect to see you in my office tomorrow morning then for your one-year NEWT review." Professor Flitwick raised his voice to a level that anyone in a ten-metre radius could overhear. "You're at ten, don't be late."

"Thank you Professor." Selene was still reeling from the knowledge that her Charms Professor had been around Grimmauld Place over the summer as well as Professor McGonagall, but she began to walk towards the Entrance Hall.

There was no one in the Entrance Hall at this time, and the distant tolling of a bell told Selene that it was fifteen minutes until Filch began to patrol the halls, looking out for any rule-breakers.

It was slightly saddening, seeing Hogwarts to void of noisy chatter and the general hubbub that Selene associated with her peers. In fact, she half-expected to round the next corner to see half of her year clustered around a door listening in to some conversation.

But it was only her.

She reached Ravenclaw tower with less than five minutes to spare, hastily answering the riddle (What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright and the carpenter?) and slipping inside the common room.

"Is it true?"

"Huh?" Selene glanced up, almost bumping into Padma Patil, who was standing in front of Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot. "Wha-? I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Is it true?" Terry Boot repeated, looking torn between disbelief and excitement. "That… that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back? That Harry Potter truly saw him return?"

Selene immediately felt the need to run into a deep, dark corner with a huge book and stay there until Christmas. "Um… Well, what makes you t-think that I know the truth?" She tried to deter them, but Anthony Goldstein stepped forward.

"Well, you're dating Fred Weasley, aren't you." It was a blunt statement, not a question. "And his little brother is Harry Potter's best friend. You're probably the most quizzed-up person in the whole of Ravenclaw, so naturally we came to ask you."

Swallowing, Selene looked around at the three faces, all lit eerily in the flickering firelight, and she slumped. "Yes, it's true." She admitted, rubbing her eyes. "Voldemort is back."

They all shuddered at the name, Padma Patil giving Selene a strange look. "You call You-Know-Who by his real name?" She said incredulously. "I thought you of all people would be too scared."

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." She answered, thinking of something Dumbledore had said to her the day she started Hogwarts. "I'm scared of enough without Voldemort in the mix."

* * *

"Ah, Miss Malfoy!" Professor Flitwick looked up and smiled at the girl who had just entered his office. "Sit down, yes, sit down. And how are you this morning?"

"I'm fine thank you Professor Flitwick." Selene took one of the empty chairs gratefully, smiling around at the familiar interior. "So… um…"

Suddenly realising that he had other things to talk about than simply the weather, Professor Flitwick nodded and rifled through the papers on his desk. "It has been exactly one year since you started your NEWT level subjects, so we have a review of how you've been getting on with them, along with your other thoughts on your future career."

"Well…" Selene was suddenly acutely aware that she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. Last year was easy enough, she just vaguely mentioned a job in the Ministry, maybe in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and that was all to it.

This year, that simply wasn't going to cut it.

"I-I think…"

Professor Flitwick looked enquiringly at her, before referring to his sheet of parchment. "Well, you've been averaging an O in Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Arithmancy, an E in Transfiguration and Ancient Runes, and an A in Potions. I have spoken to Professor Snape about your grade, but he is refusing to amend it. So…?"

"I'd like to work in… In Experimental Charms." Selene said decisively, remembering a leaflet she'd been interested in back in fifth year.

"Really? Well, you'll need to get an Outstanding in Charms, Transfiguration and Ancient Runes is also recommended." Professor Flitwick read out, scanning the paper again. "Professor Babbling has written here that you have no problem with the written work, and that you are well on your way to an Outstanding, but I would recommend spending some extra time in your Transfiguration, as Professor McGonagall says that an Outstanding in that subject isn't implausible, but quite some way away."

Selene nodded as Professor Flitwick passed her the same leaflet as she remembered from fifth year – bright orange and entitled '_Experimental Charms_' in luminous green letters. "I joined that department too, after I left school." He continued, nodding. "I can give you a fantastic reference, they are rather short of staffing at the moment. Right, in your other subjects… Potions. I'm sure Professor Snape is exaggerating your clumsiness in his lessons-" Her face burned bright red. "-And I know that with a little push, we can get you onto an E and on track for an O."

"Thank you Professor" Selene thanked him, slipping the leaflet into her bag.

"I'll get back to you about Experimental Charms Miss Malfoy." Professor Flitwick smiled jovially. "I'd better let you go, you have Defence Against the Dark Arts now, I believe?"

Selene nodded, thanking Professor Flitwick once again before letting herself out of his office, making a beeline straight for the third floor.

Everyone looked up when she walked in, and Selene swallowed. Everyone knew why she had been late, of course, but that didn't stop the situation being intimidating.

"_Ahem_?" Professor Umbridge coughed, and Selene walked into one of the front desks, making the Slytherins at the back snicker.

"Sorry I'm late Professor, I had-"

"Yes?" Her voice was higher than ever now, or at least it seemed to be so. "Miss Malfoy, you will address me as Professor Umbridge, is that clear?"

Selene blinked, resisting the urge to reach down and rub her leg where she'd walked into the desk. "Yes, Professor Umbridge." She said evenly. "I'm sorry I'm late, Professor Flitwick needed to talk to me about my NEWT subjects."

Giving a little chuckle, Professor Umbridge shook her head. "But you were still late for my lesson Miss Malfoy. That'll be twenty points from Ravenclaw and a detention if you don't sit down."

Selene went very pink as the Slytherins at the back snickered again, taking the seat next to Angelina, who had obviously specially saved it for her.

"Professor Umbridge?" Selene glanced behind her to see George frantically waving his hand in the air.

"Yes, Mr…?"

"Weasley, Professor Umbridge, Fred Weasley." George smirked triumphantly up at Umbridge. "Selene gave you a valid reason for why she was late, so why did you take points off her?"

Umbridge looked like she had been forced to suck on a lemon. "Well, Mr Weasley, I hardly think that that's any of your business how things are done in my lessons. Yes Mr…"

"Weasley, Professor Umbridge, George Weasley." Fred grinned at Selene for a moment before returning his efforts to their confused teacher. "But surely Selene can prove that she was in fact with Professor Flitwick?"

"Mr Weasley-" Professor Umbridge began, but she was stopped by the twins both standing up and smiling beauteously.

"Yes, Professor Umbridge?" They chorused sweetly, exchanging grins with each other as Umbridge started to go red.

"_George _Weasley." She corrected, and Fred sat down loudly. "Mr Weasley, I believed you were in fact Fred?"

Angelina was shaking with silent laughter now, holding both hands over her mouth so she stayed silent. "No Professor Umbridge, I'm George, not Fred. Fred's sitting next to me."

Fred stood up next to his brother proudly. "My name is George, Professor!" He announced loudly, and it all became too much for Angelina, who spluttered and choked on her laughter, trying unsuccessfully to stop herself.

"Detention tonight, Mr Weasley." Umbridge said calmly. "Miss Johnson, are you quite alright? You look like you are having a laughing fit."

"Alright?" George waved his hand airily – he had not yet sat down. "She's fine, it runs in the family! Laughing fits every Tuesday at half past ten, coughing fits Wednesday lunchtime. You should see her on Fridays at nine, biggest sneezes I have ever seen…"

"Mr Weasleys, sit down this instant!" Professor Umbridge snapped, and the twins abruptly sat down. "Both of you, detention this evening at seven!

Angelina managed to stop her laughing by this time enough to share a look with the twins.

"Miss Malfoy." Professor Umbridge's voice had returned to its normal sickly-sweet quality. "You may think yourself above turning up on time to lessons, but I would like to stress that I class punctuality among the best traits a young witch or wizard can have."

Selene's face burned bright red and she had to bite down hard on her bottom lip to prevent herself from coming up with some badly needed but suicidal comment.

"But she-"

"Mr Weasley!" Umbridge snapped, rounding on Fred. "That'll be ten points from Gryffindor for answering back."

"Professor Umbridge." Selene looked around to see Lee waving his hand from a few desks back.

"Is this comment _relevant _to our subject material?" Professor Umbridge asked sweetly, the venom in her voice now shining through easily.

Lee slumped, shook his head and resumed his doodling in the inside cover of _Defensive Magical Theory_.

Umbridge nodded, turning back to her blackboard. "Now, as I was saying, you are the most senior year group in Hogwarts, and you are fast approaching your N.E.W.T.s, commonly referred to as NEWTs. If you are here, then it means that you at least received Exceeds Expectations in your O.W.L.s, if not Outstandings. As a result, I expect nothing less than those two grades in your homework. Yes, _Mr Jordan_?"

"Thank you Professor. Do you want to hear a joke?" Lee asked Umbridge, but he continued before she could answer. "Great! Why did the Muggle farmer win a Nobel Prize?"

Not many people understood what a Nobel Prize was, but everyone still looked interested. "Because he was out standing in his field!"

Everyone who dared to began to laugh, Selene choking a few times behind her hand before swallowing her laughter and looking at Lee quickly, trying to warn him but failing.

"Detention Mr Jordan, for telling petty _Muggle _jokes in my lessons." Umbridge said snidely, drawing out 'Muggle' like it tasted bad. "And twenty points from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw for laughing at Mr Jordan's petty joke."

Thankfully, even the twins shut up after this, grinding their teeth but otherwise staying silent.

"I can't bloody believe her!" Angelina exploded, as they left Umbridge's lesson. "We all have to have those meetings, over this week at least. And the book, its complete and utter bull! Theory! How the bloody hell are we supposed to complete our NEWTs is she won't even bloody teach us anything!"

"Steady on Angie." George smirked at Angelina's abundant use of bad language. "Might burst a blood vessel."

"And of course, Georgie wouldn't want that to happen to his precious Angel." Fred grinned, sharing a glance with Selene maddeningly.

George elbowed Fred meaningfully, who masked the gesture by slipping his arm around Selene's shoulders. "We've got a free period." He said casually. "Wanted to go and try to seduce the Giant Squid. Coming love?"

"I've got an hour." Selene sighed. "I had some research to do, but I guess seducing the Giant Squid's a good scientific experiment. Why though? I doubt it can dance as well as I can."

George turned his laughing fit into a coughing fit before either Fred or Selene could pick him up on it, but Angelina whacked him around the head. "No love, I'm sure she's _terrible_." Fred said, in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Susie, I mean."

"Susie?" Selene raised her eyebrows. "You named the Giant Squid?"

"I will have you know that Susie is an excellent kisser."

Angelina looked faintly disgusted. "When did you kiss the Giant Squid?" She asked incredulously, looking rather green.

Fred shrugged. "Ages ago. It was a bit one-sided, to be honest. It was a long-distance relationship, and then when I came back here I found out that Susie had cheated on me with Nessie the Loch Ness Monster."

"Remind me, why did I decide to date you in the first place?" Selene sighed, shaking her head in an exaggerated way.

"I have absolutely no idea!" Fred said indulgently, treading on George's toes to keep him from laughing.

**QUESTION TIME!**

**Gurl5678 asked Lily: Have you found a vampire to bite you yet?**

**Lily: *****sighs* No, unfortunately. I sneaked out to the Forbidden Forest the other night to try but Hagrid caught me. Next on my list is Rufus Scrimgour. Mum will kill me if I become a vampire though, so I need to be sneaky.**

**Gurl5678 asked Lily: Do you have a boyfriend?**

**Lily: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha no. **

**Gurl5679 asked George: When are you going to ask Angie out I mean seriously?**

**George: Ah, I would, but I'm dating my jokes at the moment. I leave everything cheesy to my dear twin brother. One day. When I can be bothered, and when the girl in question shuts up about Quidditch.**

**Gurl5678 asked Katie: How often do you get to see Oliver? Because long-distance relationships don't work.**

**Katie: Well, we live near each other, so while I'm on holiday he lives five minutes away. We write regulary, and he tries to get time off Puddlemere every Hogsmede weekend. So it's working, it's just not a normal relationship. I get free tickets to see the Harpies trash him though! **

**Gurl5678 asked me (Eleanor): Are you going to make Fred die? And what about when the twins leave Hogwarts?**

**Me (Eleanor): Ha ha! I will not tell you whether Fred will die or not. I don't think so though. And Selene will not leave Hogwarts with the twins, and they will leave at the same time as in canon. After all, she needs her NEWTs.**

**Gurl5678 asked Ron: TELL HERMIONE YOU LOVE HER OR AT LEAST ASK HER OUT! ARE YOU A (censored) GRYFFINDOR OR NOT?**

**Ron: Um… I'm pretty sure Hermione's dating Krum. And even if she isn't, imagine how badly Fred and George would tease me if I suddenly told one of my best friends that I loved her? **

**Remember to send me questions! The funniest and weirdest ones will be revealed in Chapter 50!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	42. Chapter 41: When Life Gives You Lemons

**Well, what can I say. Busy life, back to school on Wednesday – my sister's going to be a Year 7 so I have to look out for her too, as well as get back on top of my schoolwork and start to juggle writing and GCSE coursework.**

**Oh, you are going to hate me. I spent so long procrastinating over this chapter – should I change it or not? – but I've decided to leave it how it is. But oh, you will hate me for it.**

**Thank you to Dalonega Noquisi, The souless ones, hidoineko (it's so Mahtavaa!), Gurl5678 (x2, sorry to keep you waiting but no fluff her, no way), maxie210, HT118, zZhell-butterflyZz, Charlyxx and Forever Fanfiction Lover22! Thank you for getting me to 190 reviews, can you get me to 200 to make me feel better about the end of the summer?**

**And, remember to send in your questions (weirder the better, literally just type the first load of rubbish that comes to you.).**

**Well, enjoy (or not. Let me know if you're annoyed about my decision, but don't go mad. Seriously, it won't last for long.**

* * *

"Oh, no, did I get too close? Oh, did I see what's really on the inside?" - Unconditionally by Katy Perry

* * *

Chapter 41: When Life Gives You Lemons…

"And as you can see, the Ancient Egyptians preferred a form of hieroglyphs to the Latinate alphabet that we use today. On the other hand, the Ancient Greeks used a more phonetic sequence." Professor Babbling pointed to a row of complicated pictures. "These two combined create a higher form of Ancient Runes…"

The Professor drifted off, looking dreamily into the distance as she did whenever she mentioned the name of her subject. Many people took Professor Babbling as a bit of a joke, not as much as Professor Trelawney because at least Professor Babbling was competent enough in her subject, but her slightly scatter-brained nature made her a little bit of a target of snide comments and jokes.

But all in all, although maybe only a few of the Professor's NEWT students would admit it, Professor Babbling's overall effectiveness was on a scale with Professor McGonagall's.

Bathshelda Babbling had always been kind to Selene in a way that not many would understand. When it was clear that Selene had been up all night on patrol duty – like the Halloween of her fifth year – she let her snooze through her lesson. She took the time to go through Selene's missed marks on most homework's and exam papers.

In fact, Selene reminded Professor Babbling somewhat of her younger self, but she passed that off to coincidence.

"We have the cat here." Professor Babbling gestured to a glyph of a cat. "Docility. In a way, Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs are pertaining to one's Patronus form. As the Ancient Egyptian wizards and witches first produced the Patronus charm, we assume that the magic of 'Expecto Patronum!' is Egyptian in origin. But these hieroglyphs-" She pointed to rest of the board. "-Are purely modern in origin."

Selene scribbled a few notes down on the already half-full piece of parchment in front of her. She had probably written enough notes in Ancient Runes to fill a whole tome by now, if not a series of decently sized books.

"Then we have the bluebird." Pointing to a picture of a bird in flight, Professor Babbling pushed her square-rimmed glasses up her nose. "That symbolises joy, happiness, the renewal of springtime and prosperity."

Selene's world began to spin, and she clutched the side of her desk to keep her balance. No, of all places, she couldn't go under in the middle of a lesson. Just… keep it together. Focus on writing down the symbolism of the bluebird.

"Are you okay?" Alicia looked at Selene with concern. "You've gone really pale. Like, _really _pale."

Nodding, Selene hastily jotted down a bad sketch of a bluebird and wrote down the signification of the animal around the drawing. "I'm fine Allie." She lied through her teeth – the world was still slightly unfocused.

Luckily, Professor Babbling had not noticed their quiet exchange. She continued to explain about the rest of the hieroglyphs, from the monkey to the panda. According to her, each animal was a possible Patronus form.

_"Mother!" I call frantically, running across the front lawn without a care to whether my dress is becoming grass-stained. It would make the perfect white colour seem more human anyway. "Mother!"_

_ I skid into the front hall, instinctively wiping my feet on the way in. The tiny bird in my hands flutters feverishly, as well as it can with one obviously broken wing. _

_ Then I stop in my tracks. Mother is in the drawing room, closeted with her friends, who I know to be Leander Crabbe and Marguerite Goyle in this instance. Her parting words of this morning told me all that I need to know – I _must _not disturb them._

_ So I change tack, running up the stairs towards my bedroom and taking one of the passageways that Dobby once showed me so I wouldn't run into my brother. _

_Wrenching open my bedroom door, I lay the injured bird on my bed. "Dobby?" I call feverishly, waiting for the familiar crack._

"_What can Dobby do to help Mistress Selene?" Dobby asks me politely, not a trace of fear in his voice – unlike when anyone else in this house calls him. _

"_Dobby, do you know how to mend broken bones?" I enquire him, reaching out my pinkie finger to stoke the bird's head gently, to stop it struggling. "I found this bird in the grounds, under my tree. It has a broken wing."_

_Dobby nods, his huge ears bouncing with the movement. "Dobby knows of a spell, Mistress Selene. _Ferula_."_

_I swallow, looking over to where my wand sits, fresh in its packaging, yet unused. I am not supposed to use it until I set foot in Beauxbatons, that is what I have been told time and time again._

_But…_

_Standing, up, I walk over to where the box engraved with '_Ollivander's Wands' _sits, on top of my desk. I pick it up._

"_Thank you Dobby." I smile at the little House-Elf, who smiles back hesitantly. "Are you okay with dinner? It is always lovely."_

"_Dobby thinks that Mistress Selene should help the bird." Dobby says nervously. "That is, if Dobby is not being too forward, Mistress Selene."_

_I shake my head. "Thank you Dobby." I repeat. "You are never too forward, and you are welcome to tell me whatever you like."_

_With a crack, Dobby is gone and I am left, wand in one hand and the bird still stirring feebly on my bed. _

"_Come on little one." I coax the bird, picking it up and letting it rest in the palm of my hand. It must be a baby bird. "It won't hurt. Just a second, okay?"_

_It lets out a cal that is somewhere between a coo and a squawk, and I giggle shamelessly. "Yes, you are very pretty, aren't you?"_

"Ferula._" I say calmly, and a split attaches itself to the bird's broken wing. _

_Then it dawns on me – that was the first proper spell that I had ever cast with a wand. _

_The bird hops down from my palm, back down onto my bed and squawks up at me in what might have been a thank you if birds could talk. But they can't, so I pass it off as my overactive mind playing tricks on me. _

"_That's okay." I say that back though, not caring really. It's better than talking to myself. "I have to go to a school in France soon. I wanted to go to Hogwarts, but… well, I guess Beauxbatons will be just as good, right?"_

_The bird squawks again. "At least I can speak French." I say thankfully. "Those lessons are going to come in handy. Now at least I can communicate with people, and I won't just be the dumb little English girl on my first day."_

_I walk over to the doors that lead onto my balcony, opening one of them to let some less-stale air into my bedroom. "I don't know why I can't go to Hogwarts. Mother and Father both went, in fact all of my family has. So why not me?"_

_The bird doesn't answer, and I don't expect it to. So I sigh, taking a seat on the very edge of my bed. "Yeah, you're right." I admit, brushing my hair out of my face. "There is no real answer to that question, is there?"_

* * *

Selene's eyes flickered open.

"Miss Malfoy?" Someone is front of her was calling. "Miss Malfoy, can you hear me?"

"Urgh…" Selene managed as a response, taking a long, deep breath. "I-I can…?"

There were quite a few sighs of relief, and Professor Babbling's face came into view. "Dear, you fainted." She said slowly, her face lined with concern. "Are you quite alright?"

"I'm fine." Insisted Selene, making to stand up. "Truly, I'm completely fine."

Professor Babbling didn't look convinced. "At least go to the Hospital Wing." She said gently. "Miss Spinnet, please take Miss Malfoy to the Hospital Wing."

It was clear that Selene was not going to get away from her fainting spell without a trip to the Hospital Wing, so she went without complaint. But the stares she got from her classmates were enough to make her feel nauseous again, so she closed her eyes and concentrated on walking.

"God, Selene, what happened?" Alicia asked in a furious whisper as soon as they were an acceptable way away from the classroom. "You said you were fine!"

"I am." Selene lied again, opening her eyes. "I… I was just testing a Fainting Fancy for George, that's all. Nothing huge, but he forgot to give me the other half, so I had to wait to come round, that's all."

Alicia relaxed. "Oh, that's good." She said thankfully. "I'd better take you to the Hospital Wing though, I don't trust the twins one bit."

Madam Pomfrey was tending to a second-year when Alicia and Selene walked in, her face creasing into concern when she saw Selene. "Miss Malfoy, please say that another suit of armour didn't fall on you."

"She fainted in Ancient Runes." Alicia supplied quickly. "Professor Babbling wanted her to go to the Hospital Wing."

"Right." Madam Pomfrey guided Selene to one of the beds, gesturing for her to sit down. "Miss Spinnet, you'd better go back to class."

Madam Pomfrey checked her clipboard. "Miss Malfoy, have things like this happened before?" She asked dubiously, quill poised over her parchment. Selene bit her lip. "This will be strictly confidential, of course."

"I had a series of panic attacks over the summer." Selene admitted, watching Madam Pomfrey's expression change rapidly. "Nausea, vomiting, headaches, dizzy spells, flashbacks…"

"How long?" Madam Pomfrey asked, scribbling a note on the paper. "Precise as possible, please."

"Maybe… three weeks?" Selene guessed, adding up days in her mind.

Sighing, Madam Pomfrey set down her clipboard. "I have a theory Miss Malfoy, but I'm going to need to observe you for a little while. Not long, and if you have any of those symptoms again you are to come _straight _to me, do you understand?"

"Yes Madam Pomfrey." Selene nodded, glancing at her hands. She was still pale, like someone had been cutting off the blood circulation to her hands or similar. "Um… but do you have any idea what _might _be wrong-"

The doors to the Hospital Wing burst open, and a very anxious redheaded torpedo barreled in. "God, Selene!" He exclaimed. "Alicia said you'd fainted in Ancient Runes!"

Madam Pomfrey clicked her tongue, but cast Selene a meaningful look and went off to sort out her remedies. "Fred, I'm fine." Selene insisted. "Professor Babbling was worried, that's all. Probably overwork, I have Quidditch tryouts tonight after all."

Exhaling, Fred sat himself down on the bed next to his girlfriend. "Good." He said thankfully, and instantly Selene felt guilty for lying to him. "I was worried that it was like the summer, but if you're sure…"

"I am sure." Selene re-iterated. "I… just need to get some rest, that's all. I had Prefect rounds for the best part of last night, and masses of homework on top of that."

"All of us have masses of homework." Fred pointed out. "Some of us just choose not to do it."

Selene sighed. "Wish I could get an early night tonight, but like I said its tryouts."

"Well…" Fred trailed off shiftily, avoiding looking at her. "You could always… you know… skip them? Quidditch might make your overwork worse."

"Like that's going to help." Selene said sarcastically. "No, I'm going to tryouts. Cho's still refusing to talk to me and she's not going to keep my place on the team all ready and waiting just in case I can't make tryouts. No, I just need to get on top of my homework, and I'll be fine."

"I've barely seen you apart from mealtimes since we tried to seduce the Giant Squid." Fred covered Selene's hand with his own. "'Lene, something's wrong, isn't it? Please, just tell me love. Remember, I promise I will always be here for you."

Selene exhaled. "No, I can't tell you everything Fred." She reminded him. "Some… some things I can't talk about to anyone."

"But I'm not just anyone love. Please, I promised I would always be here for you."

"I know!" Selene snapped, snatching her hand away. "Not everything can be fixed with a laugh and a joke Fred. I'm sorry, but… it just can't."

"I'm not stupid." Fred grimaced. "I know that. But if you won't even tell me-"

Selene stood up, ignoring the ringing in her ears that meant she was moving too quickly. "Fred, please, for once just leave me alone, okay? I love you, but I can't tell you everything!"

"If you loved me then you would tell me!" Their voices were getting louder, and the second-year was swiftly disappearing under the bedcovers.

"Of course I love you!" Selene could feel her eyes beginning to sparkle with tears but she brushed them away before they could get any further. "Just… I love you, but for once could you understand why I can't tell you?"

"Yes, I can!" Fred was shouting now. "Selene, for gods sake just listen to me for once!"

"Why should I?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Fred yelled.

"That isn't a good enough reason Fred."

"FOR GOD'S SAKE, STOP BEING A SMART-ARSE AND TELL ME!"

"I…"

Fred opened his mouth, presumably to yell again, but Selene was already walking away from him, holding her breath so she wouldn't yell at him. She didn't even stop to check that she was allowed to leave the Hospital Wing before leaving, ducking around the corner and slumping down the wall.

"Stubborn… git…" She sobbed, cursing her and her stupid Ravenclaw mouth. "Just… shut up for once in your bloody life…"

* * *

Luna wasn't in the Great Hall when Selene entered, so she reluctantly sat down at the very end of the blue and bronze table and took out her Transfiguration essay. Marietta was the only one of Cho's entourage around at the moment, so she took the full responsibility for the glaring and whispering.

"Do you want me to cut Marietta's ear off?" Lily said cheerily, plopping herself down opposite her cousin and scowling at the whisperer. "Come _on… _I need an alibi."

Selene didn't answer, neatly underlining her name at the top of the parchment. Lily rolled her eyes and forcefully took Selene's quill from her.

"Selene, you know I love you to death-" Selene started at this; Lily was not one for openly admitting any affection towards anyone, except maybe her sister. Then again, the wording could mean something very different. "-But if you're going to be sitting over here on the geek table then I at least expect you to talk to me."

Sighing and rolling the parchment up, Selene nodded. "Okay then. What about?"

Lily shrugged. "Well, Katie just won't shut up about Wood, and to be honest I haven't seen Fred or George since breakfast and annoying Ron and Harry is getting tedious, Angelina is procrastinating about Quidditch and Alicia is painting her nails over her snadwich and it's making me feel sick. Enlighten me with your oh-so-amazing pearls of wisdom and gossip. What has been happening in the Selene-verse?"

"Right, so I fainted in Ancient Runes." Selene waited for Lily to react, but she continued to pick her nails with a sharp knife.

"Hmmm?" Lily prompted, admiring her hand before going back to picking her nails. "Annnnddd?"

"Is my social life really that important to you Lily?" Selene groaned, holding her head in her hands.

Lily nodded, still not really paying attention. "Yes, of course it is." She said, in a voice drenched in sarcasm. "Spit it out, there must be something amazingly wrong with you if you can't even string a sentence together nowadays."

Going pink, Selene managed to mumble something. "Yes? Didn't quite catch that." Lily said, in an overly loud voice. "I don't have all day, cousin or not I will murder you and plant the evidence on Umbridge. Or Snape. Maybe cousin Drakkie…"

"Fred and I had a fight, okay?" Selene sighed.

The change in Lily's attitude was astounding, she looked up from her nails, clutched her knife in one hand and her eyes widened. "No. Fucking. Way." She swore loudly, which made everyone turn to look at her.

"Miss Tonks?" Umbridge was walking across the Great Hall, her pink shoes making a clicking sound as she did. "I'm going to have to ask you to hand over that knife now."

Lily glowered darkly at Umbridge, and this would be where any self-respecting teacher would go pale, turn around and run away. Her fist was starting to go white from the strength with which he was clutching the knife. "Why Professor?" She asked, in a voice that could only be described as vengeful. "Are you scared of me?"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor Miss Tonks." Umbridge snapped, holding out her hand. "Now give me your knife."

"Well aren't you just the sweetest…" Lily muttered, passing Umbridge the knife begrudgingly, and after a stern look from Professor McGonagall. "But anyway. You and Fred fought?"

"Yes, draw attention to it why don't you." Selene whispered. "It doesn't matter, okay?"

Lily's face fell – she had evidently been hoping that she could stab someone for Selene – but she shrugged again, standing up. "Well then. This is where I leave you, and if you hear any stories about a brutal triple-murder that inexplicably involves Umbitch, Snape and Trelawney, you know where I'll be hiding."

Winking and smirking horribly, Lily turned on her heel in an overly dramatic fashion, flicking her hair back over her shoulder and scowling at a fourth-year boy who had stopped to watch her. "Watch it kiddo, or you might just wake up one day without a hand…" She snarled, stalking out of the Great Hall.

Selene made to get her essay back out of her bag again, but another person slipped into the spot that Lily had vacated. "Look, Selene, I don't know what Fred said to you, but I know he can be a stubborn git sometimes." George sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"George, do you understand why I haven't told you everything about my life?" Selene asked him, raising her gaze.

"Of course I do." George protested. "It's stupid living in the past when you can live in the present, so I have no problem with you… glossing over the finer details. That bloody letter told me more than I wanted to know."

Selene shook her head. "Fred…" Her voice cracked. "Fred doesn't think I love or trust him enough to tell him anything. I collapsed in Ancient Runes, and he was literally worried sick about me from what I could tell. Then he started to ask me what was wrong, what flashback I'd had, and… I snapped at him. He overreacted, said I didn't love him and I walked away from him. It's fine, okay? I can live."

"Selene, it's quite obviously not okay so why do you say it is?" George rolled his eyes. "You and Fred are very alike in one respect, you don't notice things until they whack you around the head. And you are both _incredibly _stubborn. He dug himself into a huge hole with this one, but you at least have to calm down yourself."

"I am calm, okay?"

* * *

_Dear Selene,_

_ I have heard a lot about you from both Nymphadora and Liliana, who both have made you out to be a lovely young woman. Please excuse me writing you this letter, but I believed that to get the problems out of the way as soon as possible would be less painful for all of us._

_ So, firstly, I am sorry I haven't been there for you in your life so far. The day I heard that your mother was pregnant was genuinely one of the happiest days of my life – Cissy had always wanted a child, and when you were a girl, I was hopeful that your mother might let me see you._

_ As we both know, that wasn't the case. Lucius was quite against the idea. _

_ But after I had Nymphadora and Liliana, and Voldemort was destroyed, I started to understand a little. All a mother wants is to keep her children safe, and the same is true for Narcissa._

_ I would like you to know that if circumstances had been different, I would have become your godmother. You wouldn't have grown up so alone, as I am sure that Nymphadora would have loved you as much as she does now, and that Liliana…_

_ Well, as your uncle likes to say, Liliana is Liliana. _

_ As you no doubt know by now, I was also in the Order of the Phoenix for two years of the First Wizarding War, until Liliana was born and I was persuaded by Lily Potter and Molly Weasley that we should move into hiding with your Uncle. I would again be in the Order, if Ted and I had not decided to keep Liliana out of it for the moment._

_ You may be wondering why, but I was initially extremely reluctant to let Liliana go to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys, and my fears were not misplaced, it seems. Liliana is a Gryffindor, just like her father, and she is brave but also somewhat reckless. The amount of letters I have received from her Head of House would rival those of even the Weasley twins. _

_ Nymphadora has filled me about in the circumstances in which you joined the Weasleys this summer, and I must admit I almost laughed when she told me of the night you left on._

_ You see, I left on the night of my engagement to your uncle Rodolphus Lestrange, who married your aunt Bellatrix a year later. It caused quite a scandal, especially as I had left a note detailing exactly why I was leaving in acute detail._

_ And I was disowned, and was graciously taken in by Ted's parents until we moved out after graduation._

_ So I hope you will forgive my laughter. You remind me a little of myself Selene, although I know things have been harder on you than they were for me. Ted is reading this letter over my shoulder as I write it, and is guffawing madly at my use of precise and formal language._

_ He would like to say that he would like to have a word with your boyfriend. Don't worry though my dear, I'm sure your Uncle will go lightly on him, as he has done for many of Nymphadora's boyfriends in the past._

_ But the main reason I have written to you isn't to give you excuses about why I haven't been able to be in your life as much as I have longed to be._

_ I would be honoured if you would accept my invitation to spend a Saturday with your uncle and I in the next few weeks. Of course, I would arrange things with your Head of House and Professor Dumbledore before, but you would be welcome at any time. _

_ I hope you will forgive me for the momentous amount of mistakes I have made._

_ With love, always,_

_ Andromeda Tonks_

There was a photo enclosed with the letter. And it was simply Andromeda, with Narcissa and Bellatrix.

And they were all smiling. Bellatrix and Andromeda were dressed in the green and silver colours of Slytherin, their arms around Narcissa, who was in plain black robes.

On the back of the photograph was scrawled:

_'Bella, Andy and Cissy 1st September 1966_

_Cissy's first day at Hogwarts'_

**Thought it was a good way to end.**

**QUESTION TIME!**

**Maxie201 asked Harry, Ron and Hermione: In this greatest world of Fanfiction, ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE THE COMMON SENSE NOT TO CALL THE DA DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY WHEN FUDGE THINKS DUMBLEDORE'S BUILDING AN ARMY?**

**Harry: Uh… maybe… let's leave that for the author to decide in German. It's a cool name, but I get your end of the wand.**

**Ron: It's not up to me really. Then again, when does 'Mione ever listen to me? I can try yelling it at her, I guess…**

**Hermione: I have a lot of common sense thank you, and the author has asked me to tell you all that she thinks that canon makes about as much sense as a chocolate laptop sometimes. Maybe the Defence Association would be better.**

**Well that's it from me. I'm off to watch some cycling (Vuelta a Espana – I'm going to see the Tour of Britain when it goes through Malvern on the 10****th****!).**

**Eleanor xxx**


	43. Chapter 42: I'll Be Your Ravenclaw

**Well, hello!**

**Year 10 started today. Actually, it's okay. I had PE (urk), Biology and Music today. Double German tomorrow.**

**Anyway. 198 reviews, yay! No doubt it'll be 200 in a matter of hours. Thanks to The souless ones (see my PM, my friend), Charlyxx (glad you like the flashback, it was going to be Arithmancy originally but oh cheesecakes), Daizychains123 (hope you enjoyed your holiday!), hidoineko (no problem XD), Dalonega Noquasi (well, you'll like this chapter then), Gurl5678 (wow, um... thanks. For all the praise, but I'm not that amazing. I have a long way to go yet), .1806 (updated soon! YAY FOR ME AND MY ORGANISATION SKILLS! THAT ASSEMBLY PAID OFF!) and HT118 (get back together soon, hmm? Read this.).**

**Warning: I have no... dammit the word's gone. Anyway, one chapter. That's all. Oh, what is wrong with my brain? Trying to make it realistic doesn't work. Well, it's been about a week in the story, so I guess it's okay.**

**Right, I've decided to dispense with the 'funniest questions in Chapter 50' thing. One thing, it wouldn't work. I'd just forget about them. So just send them in, funny, serious (SIRIUS! HA HA! Sorry...) or weird, all of them. Thank you for all the ones I got this chapter!**

* * *

"Come on baby blue, shake up your tired eyes." - Let There Be Love by Oasis

* * *

Chapter 42: I'll Be Your Ravenclaw

"SELENE!" Angelina yelled, running up to greet her friend as she approached. "Thank god you're here. We haven't even started yet, and Harry's got detention with Umbridge and-"

Selene managed a smile, refraining from glancing behind Angelina to see who else had come up to meet her. "That's okay Angie. I just finished my Potions essay, and I didn't want to let you down. You know what happened with Harry and Umbridge, don't be too harsh on him, please."

Angelina gritted her teeth. "It's still annoying, I wanted to see how well the new Keeper went with _all _the team, and now we have no Seeker!"

"Come on Angelina, give it a rest." George said firmly, giving Selene a loose hug as a greeting. "At least it isn't a match, right? It could be an awful lot worse."

Angelina muttered something under her breath but stormed back off towards the Quidditch Pitch, where the rest of the team were waiting.

Looking up when he heard the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain approaching, Fred leaned on his broomstick and managed a smirk. "Look out everyone!" He called. "Here comes Hurricane Angie!"

"Shut up you great prick." Angelina grimaced, walking over to where Alicia was looking after her broom. "We're still waiting for the people trying out, so get comfy."

"…Cheesecake, my dear, and you are surprised why?" George was laughing behind him, and Fred froze, his smirk disappearing as he realised exactly who George was talking to. "Ouch, watch it! My hair doesn't naturally stay like this, you know! I become this fabulous with _time._"

He began to walk back towards the changing rooms, but Angelina grabbed his arm before Fred could do more than simply turn away. "Oh, no you don't." She hissed. "You are not abandoning me here just because your girlfriend and you are fighting. At least she came down here to support me and you are not going to mess this up even more by going up to the common room, is that clear?"

Fred gulped, but nodded. Angelina let go of him, but not without a glare, walking over to where George was standing on the edge of the pitch and chatting to Selene. "Come on George, we can at least warm up before the newbies get here." He could faintly hear her saying. "Selene, you can go up to the stands. I think you're the only spectator, but no one will really mind."

"I'll mind." Fred muttered to himself, but picked his broom up all the same and walked over to George as soon as Selene had disappeared up the stairs to the stands.

The group of potential Keepers was smaller than they would normally get each year, and Fred supposed that was because no one really wanted to have to follow Oliver Wood. The new Keeper for Gryffindor probably was going to receive a detailed four-page letter all about various plays and tricks anyway. Angelina's owl had tired itself out flying with a thick letter at the beginning of the year, which was devoted mostly to keeping him and George in line.

But what really pushed his funny bone over the edge was the fact that his baby brother – ickle Ronniekins as he like to call him – was in the mix for Keeper this year.

"We might not be quite as ashamed of you if you make Keeper Ron." George grinned, reaching his arm over to ruffle Ron's hair. "So do us a favour and crash or something."

Fred snickered, glancing up to the stands quickly then averting his gaze just as fast. George caught his eye and smirked knowingly. It was like going back to last year, when everyone was just…

Well, he didn't really want to think on last year's stupid mistakes.

"Oi, Fred!" Angelina yelled. "Keep your relationship problems off the Quidditch Pitch!"

"Yeah Fred!" George yelled too, sending Angelina a winning grin when she frowned at him. "No one's interested!"

Selene couldn't help but get bored, sitting up in the stands while Angelina tried to decide between Vicky Frobisher and Ron, not really wanting to take a side.

Vicky was definitely the better flyer, but Ron was a good friend of hers so there wasn't really an easy way out.

Apart from leaving, and she wasn't going to abandon Angelina now.

She held the letter she'd been erroneously scribbling while maintaining a grasp on what was happening down on the pitch up to her face, struggling to see it through the darkening night. "_Lumos Maximus_!" Selene murmured, creating a floating ball of light that hovered in the air in front of her.

_Dear Snuffles,_

_ Yes, Hogwarts __is__ dreadfully gloomy without you. Don't look so pleased, I know you're laughing as you read this._

_ No doubt Harry's told you about The Toad, but really, she is possibly the worst person I have ever met! All we ever do in class is sit and read from the textbook, and there's no practical skill involved whatsoever!_

_ Fred and George did play a rather funny prank on Toad in our first lesson though. They pretended to be one another, and then swapped back to themselves again, then Fred said he was called George and they both got detention. Pointless but… you know what I mean._

_ Speaking of the twins, actually, me and Fred (or Fred and I as I really should say) had a bit of a fight the other day. Okay, when I say a bit I mean we were yelling at each other, in the Hospital Wing (long story). _

_ Is this solvable? I mean, I know next to nothing about relationships and it's George, Angie, Allie and Katie who got me and Fred together in the first place, and they are refusing to help this time, so I guessed you'd know enough to help._

_ Please? I'm really confused._

_ You're laughing again, I can tell. Please don't show Wolfy this letter (although you've probably already show him). _

_ I'm also going to be writing to Fleur, so there's no need to feel so complacent. Please give my greetings to Wolfy, Rainbow, and whoever happens to be around. Even Cutie, if he'll listen to you._

_ Please keep out of trouble, and I promise that I'll keep an eye on Harry. Say hello to Witherwings for me (but don't give him a pat or anything from me, because I think he's smart enough to know that I don't go near most animals with a ten-foot barge pole)_

_ Love,_

_ Selene xxx_

Selene glanced down over the railings again, to see that the Gryffindors were slowly trailing from the pitch into the changing rooms. It was now too dark to see without an aid, so she didn't vanish the floating ball of light as she made her way back down too, summoning her apologies for Ron, just in case Angelina had picked Vicky over him.

"Thank Godric for you and your spells Selene!" Alicia sighed, running over to where the giant ball of glowing light was still following her friend. "I don't know what I'd do without you!"

"Fall over in the dark and get lost, I guess." Katie giggled, following Alicia. "Oh, Selene?"

"Hmm?" Selene was too preoccupied by her letter to give them an articulate answer.

Alicia rolled her eyes, gesturing over towards where the castle lights were shining down onto the grounds. "Selene." She repeated slowly, waiting for her to meet their gaze. "Fred wants to talk to you."

Swallowing, Selene pushed her hair back off her face for the umpteenth time and tied it back into a messy ponytail – she couldn't be bothered with anything more at a time like this. "Allie, he doesn't." She amended quietly. "We had an argument, and that was that. It's barely been a week, I wouldn't expect us to be moving on past it _that _quickly."

"Oh come on." Katie groaned, taking Selene aback. She was normally the quiet one of the Gryffindor Chasers."Get a bloody grip. You are both too stubborn for your own good, you know that? Yes, Fred doesn't want to talk to you but I'll have you know that George and Angie are physically restraining him as we speak. So just… talk to him, alright?"

Before Selene could react, Katie and Alicia both seized one of Selene's arms, propelling her with surprising efficiency towards the changing rooms, the ball of glowing light still trailing behind them.

"Great, there they are!" George said cheerfully, waving Alicia in. "Come in, come in, we've devised a way to get these two to crack!"

"What is it?" Alicia asked, depositing Selene with Katie the opposite side of the changing room and walking over to where George was supporting Fred.

"Take their wands and lock them in here!" George responded, with alarming gleefulness, darting forward and grabbing his twin's wand from him.

"No, George, please." Selene tried to reason with him as Katie passed him her wand as well. "It's not a huge deal, I have… uh… Potions homework!"

"So do I!" Fred agreed.

Angelina looked at them both strangely. "Really? Fred, for one thing you don't actually do Potions, and Selene, I thought you said that you'd finished yours?"

The two victims both stood there in silence, wordlessly cursing Angelina to hell and back. The silence dragged on, and on, becoming more and more awkward as Fred and Selene tried to avoid looking at each other.

"Well this is awkward." George said lightly, and Selene shot him a death glare. He flinched, but nodded at his twin and her. "Come on, Angie, Allie, Katie, leave these two here. We'll be back in an hour, but if you haven't sorted it out then you're here all night!"

The door slammed shut behind them, and locked itself.

Sitting down on the floor, Selene closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall, the only source of light being her glowing ball from earlier.

Then Fred flicked the light switch on, and Selene started. "Look, if you're just going to sleep we're going to be here all night." He said curtly, looking at the floor so he didn't have to look at her.

"Okay." Selene said simply, reaching for her bag and pulling out a book. "I'll read then."

"You are so goddamn frustrating sometimes, you know that?" Fred growled, and Selene blinked up at him in surprise. "Just… say something that isn't _really _shallow, okay?"

"I'll be your Ravenclaw."

Fred flicked his eyes up from the ground, meeting Selene's for the first time in a week or so. "You'll… my what?"

"I'll be your Ravenclaw." Selene repeated, her face warming under Fred's intense stare. "I'll do all the witty, clever things to save your arse, I'll be the one who counts the number of freckles you have on your face. I'll be the one who uses heavy subject books as ammunition against you. Do you want a list? It's pretty long."

There were a few moments of silence, then Fred slowly began to grin, walking forward and scooping Selene up, ignoring her squeals of protest. "You are impossible, you know that?" He complained lightly, setting her down on one of the benches and sitting down next to her. "And you are also incredibly heavy."

Selene punched him, probably harder than she initially meant to but Fred didn't flinch. "I'm sorry I yelled at you the other day." She apologised quickly. "You're right, I should trust you more."

"It's okay love, I overreacted." Fred insisted, resting his head on her shoulder. "You don't have to."

"Fred." Something in her voice made Fred sit up again. "Fred, I _want _to."

They were silent for a while, Fred reacting to it and interlinking his fingers with hers. Selene gasped, jerking his hand up to her face.

"Oh, um… that." He'd forgotten to put the bandage on this morning. "That's nothing."

"I… I can't read it." Selene ran her fingers over the scar, pulling backwards when Fred shuddered. "Oh God, I'm sorry, does it hurt?"

Fred shook his head, pulling his hand back. "It's _meant _to say 'I will not be stupid'." He joked lamely, trying to make it sound funny but failing. "And no, it doesn't hurt."

"W-Who d-did t-t-that to you?" She stammered, looking at him with concern. "T-That had t-t-to be a B-Blood Quill. Fred, p-please, just tell me."

"Umbridge." Fred admitted, and Selene pulled his hand back again. "Hey, hey, calm down. I'm fine. I'm a Gryffindor, I'm invincible!"

"Did you put Murtlap on this?" Selene asked him quickly, exhaling in relief when he nodded. "Oh, thank Agrippa, it could be so much worse, she did this to you? I-I-I…"

Selene coughed into her hand, and Fred surged forward. "Selene, are you okay?" He asked quickly, noticing that she had grabbed the corner of the bench to steady herself. "'Lene, please, are you okay?"

Nodding, Selene exhaled again and dropped her head onto him, breathing shallowly but slowly regaining her breath back. "I'm worried about you." She said, in a small voice. "Hermione told me about your testing, and… you tested them on yourselves?"

"They're perfectly safe-" Fred began, but Selene shook her head.

"They might be now, but they weren't then!" She swallowed. "Y-y-you could've d-d-died!"

Fred rolled his eyes fondly. "'Lene, we're not stupid. We knew what we were doing love, and I'm not going to die."

"You might." Selene said quietly, and it rung throughout the room. "We might all die. We're the same age; you have to remember the first war Fred. S-s-so m-many people…"

"Stop thinking like that." Fred said sharply. "We are not going to die, okay? We are going to graduate, kick Voldy's arse then get married and have twelve kids. Then I'm going to get murdered by Mum for getting you pregnant twelve times."

Selene snorted. "We are _not _having twelve kids." But she was smiling slightly now.

"See, got you smiling again." Fred grinned. "No, you're quite right, not twelve. What about twenty."

The look he was given rivaled those of even Mrs Weasley.

"Fred, I want to tell you something." Selene skipped back to the original subject before it could get any further.

"Yes love?" Fred said quietly, linking their hands together again and ignoring the dull pain in the back of his hand.

"Sirius…"

Fred looked down at her slowly – this wasn't what he had been expecting. "Yes…?" He prompted gently, kissing the top of her head.

"Sirius had a brother." Selene continued.

"Wow, he didn't seem like the family type, to be honest." Fred admitted, running a hand through his hair. "It's like he pretends that he comes from the Planet Tatoorine and is waiting for the nearest Death Star to pick him up."

When Selene looked up at him, one eyebrow raised, Fred waved his hand airily. "Muggle film reference. One of the many Dad loves, and the ones I need to show to you."

Selene shook her head in exasperation, but closed her eyes again. "Um… He was called Regulus Black." She added. "And… he was also my cousin, obviously, but he was also my Godfather."

"So you and Harry are… God cousins?"

Nodding, Selene opened her eyes again. "Please, please don't tell anyone else, especially not Harry. Sirius knows, and I assume Dora does as well, but… not even George. Fred, please."

"Hey, I understand." Fred insisted. "I won't tell anyone, not even George."

"Thank you." Selene sounded considerably less pained now, and she relaxed visibly.

Then they were silent again, apart from the sounds of them both breathing. "My worst fear." Fred said unexpectedly.

"Huh?" From the sounds of it, Selene was almost asleep.

"My worst fear. I'm scared of clowns."

Selene choked, giggling under her breath as Fred scowled horribly. "Sorry, but you're scared of clowns?"

"They're terrifying." Fred shuddered. "Dad took me and George to a Muggle circus once, I have never been so scared in my entire life."

"Right." Selene said, in as serious a voice as she could muster. "Very scary."

Fred groaned and rolled his eyes, catching a little of her sarcasm in that comment. "You're rather Sirius today, aren't you?" He said slowly, smirking down at her gleefully.

"Sorry Freddie, I'm not Sirius. My godfather was Regulus, and I wasn't aware that I looked like my cousin, so that was a slightly unwelcome idea." Selene sighed, running her fingers over the scar on the back of Fred's hand again. "I know it hurts."

"Don't worry about me." Fred reminded her, kissing her cheek. "Don't stress over me when you could stress over your exams. No, actually, stress over the Gryffindor match, I have no idea how we're going to win with Ron as Keeper."

"Ron will be fine." Selene said. "Don't be derogatory towards your little brother Fred. I'll have you know that I have complete faith in Ron, okay?"

Slipping his free arm around her waist, Fred shook his head. "You are one crazy Ravenclaw my love. I hope you'll be supporting Gryffindor?"

"Beat Slytherin for me." Selene said simply, reaching up to press her lips against his cheek fleetingly.

"I will hit a Bludger at your brother, then when Harry catches the Snitch I'll make a dramatic declaration of my unconditional and undying love for you." Fred planned. "And then I'll punch Malfoy in the face."

Selene shuddered "Please, don't do that. I get enough attention for simply being your girlfriend, Draco's runaway older sister and Head Girl."

"Your wish is my undying command!" Fred explained dramatically.

"Shut. Up." Selene said, through gritted teeth.

Miming zipping his lips shut, Fred grabbed the collar of Selene's shirt and pulled her to him, as Selene let every thought drift away from her.

* * *

"Hello boys and girls!" The door burst open and they sprang apart, Selene tugging down her shirt and trying to be subtle about it, but George noticed and tipped her the biggest wink of his life. "I see you have successfully sorted out your little disagreement."

"George, get _out_." Fred grimaced, licking his lips instinctively.

George completely ignored him. "More than successfully, in fact." He smirked at Fred's hair. "Mate, you look like you've been running through the Forbidden Forest with the help of Fang. And Selene, your bra is showing."

Selene went tomato-red and murmured thanks to George, adjusting her shirt quickly.

"George, get _out_." Fred repeated ominously.

"As much as I would love to do that, I don't know what state this room would be in for our match-" Selene silently buried her head in her hands to hide her embarrassment. "-And you need to move, unless you'd like to stay here all night."

"I actually would quite like to stay here all night." Fred made an attempt to flatten his hair, as Selene picked up her coat from the floor.

Rolling his eyes, George grabbed Selene by the arm and shepherded her out of the changing room, smirking at Fred as he did.

Giving George one fingered salute, Fred reluctantly followed Selene out of the room. "So, Everything okay?" George prompted.

Fred glared at his twin, and Selene was still a strawberry colour and refusing to look at George.

"Aw, Selene, it's not like you two are the first people I've walked in on like that." George said innocently, patting Selene on the arm. "There's no need to be so embarrassed Cheesecake darling."

"There's a difference between walking in on two Slytherins you barely know and your twin brother and one of your best friends." Fred pointed out.

George shrugged. Selene and Fred shared a look, just as George slung his arms around their shoulders. "So, Selene, what do you say about coming to the party to celebrate Ron becoming Keeper, eh?"

"You do parties for that sort of thing?" Selene asked interestedly. "We in Ravenclaw just have a couple of Butterbeers, and then its back to working mostly."

"Well we have massive, blowout parties that last until Professor McGonagall comes in and tells us to be quiet." George explained. "Hardly ever tend to invite people from other houses too, but you're a special case. So what do you say?"

Thinking about it for a couple of seconds, Selene nodded grudgingly. "I guess it wouldn't hurt…" She thought aloud, and George clapped her on the back.

"Knew you couldn't say no!" He crowed joyfully.

Selene was feeling a little conspicuous in the Gryffindor common room, despite the fact that Angelina, Alicia and Katie had instantly nabbed her the second she walked through the portrait hole with the twins.

The Fat Lady had been a little bit dubious at allowing a Ravenclaw through at this time of night, but George had sweet-talked her into relenting within a minute. "Okay, she can go through, but one day I will tell the Headmaster." She said reluctantly, swinging open.

Then the twins came downstairs from the boy's dormitory laden with boxes all labeled with three interlinking 'W's, and Fred whistled. "Product testing!" He announced loudly, as a group of first years all dropped what they were doing and walked over to the twins.

"God, they are _not _doing what I think they are." Selene gaped, as George produced a brightly coloured orange box with the legend 'Skiving Snackbox' on the lid.

"They are." Angelina said grimly, taking a swig of her Butterbeer. "Hermione's already told them off twice for testing on first-years, and if she would wake up…"

Selene scanned the crowd for Hermione, her gaze coming to rest on a bushy-haired figure in an armchair by the fire. "How can she sleep through this racket?" She asked incredulously, shaking her head.

Shrugging, Alicia threw an Exploding Bon-Bon into the air and caught it in her mouth. "You get used to it after a while. Lee can sleep through just about anything nowadays."

"And you'd know about that because…?" Angelina prompted, throwing a Butterbeer across the room to Fred, who caught it niftily and opened it with his teeth. "Oh no never mind, Selene, your boyfriend has atrocious table manners."

Fred waved across to the four girls, taking a huge swig of the Butterbeer at the same time as force-feeding a first-year with the purple end of a sweet. "Thought you'd be onto me by now love!" He yelled across the room, smirking.

"Well, they aren't dangerous, are they?" Selene retorted, grinning back.

"Never say never!" Fred shouted, ignoring the curious glances of the first years around him.

"Are they dangerous?" Selene asked Angelina in an undertone, who shrugged.

"One thing I have learned from those two is to never eat anything they give you." Angelina summerised. "But I know them quite well too, and George especially would never try and kill off first-years."

Selene blinked, taking this information in. "That says an awful lot about my boyfriend." She realised.

"You can say that again." Snorted Angelina, placing the empty bottle of Butterbeer on the table.

"That says an awful lot about my boyfriend." Selene repeated, smiling as she watched Fred and George feed the first years Nosebleed Nougats. "Not anything good as well."

Rolling her eyes, Angelina pointed towards Harry and Ron, who were now talking to Hermione. "You spent the summer with the Weasleys, didn't you?"

"Uh huh." Selene agreed, wondering what track the conversation was taking. "Apart from a week, yes. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Angelina shrugged again. "It's obvious that You-Know-Who is back, I'm just wondering why more people don't believe Harry."

"It's the word of a fifteen year-old and a man everyone thinks is going senile against that of a major Wizarding paper and the Minister for Magic Angie. Those people who do believe Harry and Professor Dumbledore are either in the Or- either don't read the Prophet or know Dumbledore or Harry personally." Selene pointed out darkly. "It's stupid, everyone believed Dumbledore when-" She took a deep breath in. "When Cedric died, and one summer later everyone thinks he's a nutter."

"I'm sorry." Angelina said quietly, and Selene looked up in amazement. "You were close to him, weren't you? Cedric. You seemed quite close to him."

Selene sighed, running her hand through her hair – a habit she'd picked up from Fred in fact. "Fairly. We were… good friends, I guess. It was more C-Cho than me." She choked slightly on her words, swallowing after she'd completed the sentence.

"Cho still isn't talking to you?" Angelina asked Selene calmly, watching her friend slowly shake her head. "Selene, she knows it wasn't your fault. And the reason she won't talk to you is frankly stupid. Cho will come round with time."

"I hope so." Selene said in a voice that betrayed exactly how upset she was at losing one of her best friends.

Then Fred stood up, ignoring the people that were dancing in the very middle of the common room (Lee being among them – dancing obnoxiously with Alicia and Katie that suggested that they were all rather drunk) and walked up to Selene and Angelina.

"Dance with me, geek of Ravenclaw?" He said softly, holding out his hand, and Selene just about melted, right there on the sofa she and Angelina were currently occupying.

"Okay, prankster-in-chief." Selene took his hand, ignoring Angelina's smirk.

Fred twirled her around once, before stumbling over thin air. Selene managed to catch him though, making her go very pink. "Thank you love, let's not do that again?" He suggested, and Selene giggled.

"That's probably a good idea." She guessed, grinning up at him. "Should I mind dancing with you? Because I'm fine with it."

Fred grinned back, taking back his earlier comment and spinning her around again. "Selene, as I have told you time and time again, you are crazy. Crazy. I'm really not terribly surprised."

Selene stuck her tongue out at him.

"Mature." Fred said dryly. "Incredibly mature. How old are you, seven?"

"If I'm seven, then you're about minus five." Selene reminded him.

"And proud!"

Sighing, Selene allowed herself to be whirled around a few times before she spoke again. "I decided where I wanted to go after I left school."

Fred stopped dead. "You have?" He asked quickly. "Where?"

"Well, you know the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Ministry?" Selene started slowly, as they gradually began to dance (or try to) again. "They have an Experimental Charms division."

"There?" To her surprise, Fred didn't sound annoyed, or angry, or incredulous, or any other emotion that Selene had thought he would show when she told him. "Funnily enough, I think that'd be amazing. Of course, not as amazing as working in a joke shop, but I guess that can't suit all of us. And at least it isn't Misuse of Muggle Artifacts like Dad."

"But, it's the Ministry." Selene added. "You know, the corrupt organisation run by a guy who hates Professor Dumbledore."

Fred shrugged. "Not everyone there's a lunatic. Your cousin, Kingsley, Dad… You'll just be another person to add the 'List of Awesome Ministry People'."

"You just made that up, didn't you."

"Maaaaayyyyyyybbbbbbbeeeeee…"

"Professor Flitwick is going to give me a reference." Selene continued. "I have to get three Outstandings in my NEWT exams, Charms, Transfiguration and Ancient Runes. So… um… yeah. What do you think?"

"As I said, amazing. Get ready 'List of Awesome Ministry People' for your latest addition!"

**Well. Cheesy ending, or cheesy ending?**

**At least I've got them back together. I think I love Selene too much to hurt her (yet... MWAH HA HA! Sorry again...).**

**QUESTION TIME!**

**Charlyxx asked me (Eleanor): Is Selene a S****eer?**

**Me (Eleanor): That is a very good question. At the moment it's undecided, but all I will say is that will make her a bit of a Sue (again, my idea might make her a Sue too, anyone up for a PM conversation?).**

**Charlyxx asked me (Eleanor): Will Selene's flashbacks lead to anything important, like explaining something big in the future?**

**Me (Eleanor): Again, good question. Some of them are just me having fun, adding her in scenes I wanted her in in the first 3 books and suchlike. But some are _very _important. Dumbledore has guessed this, so maybe Harry might be... seeing things from Selene's perspective, let's say.**

**Daizychains123 asked Harry (Canon Epilogue Version [it was a good question, okay?]): Why did you name your kid Albus Severus Potter? I understand the bravest people and all that stuff, but that kid is going to be picked on so much and it's just a terrible name.**

**Harry (Canon Epilogue Version): Well, I chose Albus. We shorten it to Al, so everyone assumes he's just called Alvin. Ginny thought the middle name would fit, and you never argue with my wife, especially after she's just squeezed a kid out. Personally, I wanted Albus Ronald, but I guess he'd just grown up to be just as bad as his uncle Ronnie. And his Dad killed Voldemort, no one's going to pick on him.**

**Hidoineko asked Draco: Would you marry someone's who's not a Slytherin and is not a pureblood?**

**Draco: *looks around for his parents* Um... I'd marry someone who's not a Slytherin, I guess. And I suppose I could live with a half-blood... But that's just wishful thinking, I'd have to wait for Father to die before I looked at anyone less than pureblood. And judging by what's happened to my dear sister, I think I'd better play safe.**

**Hidoineko asked Fred: Are you going to make your girlfriend blush in front of the whole school again, or do something really embarrassing for her?**

**Fred: Well. That's a bit funny actually (not as funny as me, naturally). I was just discussing with my dearest twin about what new ways I could find to embarrass Selene. We've got absolutely nowhere, I might add. We might invent something that makes Umbridge sound just like 'Lene though... Ooh, that is a good idea, I love my mind.**

**Hidoineko asked Lily: Are you going to cause a food poisoning epidemic to the Slytherins and Umbridge?**

**Lily: Good idea! Give me a large knife to threaten the House Elves with and there we go!**

**Thanks for all the questions. My favourite one so far is definitely Hidoineko's one for Lily. But keep sending them in please, and of course review!**

**Eleanor xxx**

**(I'm off to check Facebook and watch Great British Bakeoff!) **


	44. Chapter 43: I Must Not Abuse My Ability

**Hello again!**

**Well, here we are again! Thank you to Daizychains123 , Dalonega Noquisi, Gurl5678 and HT118. **

**PAST 30k VIEWS!**

**Okay, I'm going to add something in here. I have received a review that has basically asked me if I'm going to get Fred and Selene married/eloped in this story. Right, I'm unsure about this. After all, they are only seventeen at this moment in time and Bill and Fleur are going to be engaged as of the beginning of The Half-Blood Prince, so I'm deviating towards maybe just letting it roll, see where the mood takes me. **

**If anyone would like a say in what I do, there is a poll on my profile. There are a few choices, so please pop along to vote! **

**Anyway, keep reviewing and sending me questions! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. **

* * *

"And I will try to fix you." - Fix You by Coldplay

* * *

Chapter 43: I Must Not Abuse My Abilities

"You'll never bloody believe what Percy just sent me!" Fred exploded, passing Selene a crisp piece of parchment. "I mean, just… what a bloody prat!"

_Dear Fred,_

_ I have heard from no one less than the Minister for Magic that Ron has become a Gryffindor Prefect, and I would like to stress the importance that you do not encourage him in any further rule breaking._

_ But I have another reason why I have decided to send you this letter, and that is to give you some well-intentioned advice._

_ Hearing it from something that Lucius Malfoy – delightful man- _Selene choked when she read this line. _Said to the Minister, I know that you are still in a close amorous relationship with his daughter Selene, who I had the opportunity to meet at the beginning of this summer. _

_ As Head Girl, I would normally congratulate you on gaining such a prestigious person, but the stories I have heard about her are enough to make anyone re-evaluate their view of her. _

Selene stopped reading here, handing the letter back to Fred without taking a second glance at it. "My father's talking to the Minister." She said simply, looking at her hands. "And Percy doesn't want me to date you and talk to Harry, I could guess."

"I know." Fred said miserably, scrunching the letter up and lobbing it as far as he could into the lake. "George got one too, and Ron _and _Ginny. Prat." He repeated. "Like I'm ever going to listen to that git. You heard what he said at the beginning of the summer."

Swallowing, Selene reached out and grasped Fred's right hand again. "Not again." She murmured, the scar now infinitely more legible – 'I must not be stupid'. "Fred, you have to go and tell someone at least, make this stop! If it's happening to you and George, then it'll be happening to Harry, and god knows who else!"

"They won't be able to do much 'Lene." Fred sighed. "Basically, all we can do is make her life hell."

"Blood Quills are illegal though!" Selene exclaimed, letting go of his hand for now. "I-I-I-I… I BLOODY HATE HER!"

Fred did a double take. "Wow." He blinked. "Right, 'Lene, calm down love. I'm really happy that you're pissed at Umbridge – really, we all are – but don't get worked up over it."

"Sorry." Selene sighed. "But… I guess you'd feel the same if it was me getting the detentions Fred."

* * *

Selene took her normal seat in Charms, right at the front of the class, and stowed the copy of _The Daily Prophet _that Hermione had passed her into her bag, swapping it for her copy of _Advanced Charms _and the older _The Ancient Art Of Charmwork_.

Then a little scrunched-up ball of paper hit her in the back.

"Selene!" Fred whispered from the row of desks two behind her. "Umbridge!"

Looking around, Selene saw the pink, short and beady figure of Umbridge (Umbitch to quote Lily) smiling widely around at Professor Flitwick's NEWT level Charms class. "Good morning Professor Flitwick." She said curtly, as the tiny Charms teacher clambered up onto his pile of books. "I trust you got the note detailing the time and date of my inspection?"

Professor Flitwick nodded jovially, but Selene could see the echo of anger in his eyes. "Yes, yes, of course." He said, smiling down at Selene. "Right. Today we will be looking at the Patronus Charm. We studied this last lesson, and I think we should move onto the practical aspect of things. So, class, remember the incantation of 'Expecto Patronum!' and the wand movement while thinking of your happiest memory."

Selene quietly vowed to herself that she was going to crack this charm the first time around, only if it was only to keep Professor Flitwick looking good.

The room was quickly filled with cries of 'Expecto Patronum' as their teacher clambered down from his pile of books and proceeded to walk around the classroom, correcting people's wand movements and reminding them to think of their happiest possible memories.

"Miss Malfoy." Selene's head jerked up to see Umbridge smiling at her with her unnerving smile. "I have a few questions for you, if that is okay."

"Yes Professor Umbridge." Selene said evenly, inwardly wondering why Umbridge had picked her out of everyone. She could feel Fred's worried glance on her back, but she brushed it off like it was nothing.

"Do you find that you can understand Professor Flitwick?" She asked, sounding falsely worried. "That he speaks clear enough for you to be able to hear?"

"Of course Professor Umbridge." Selene nodded, tightening her hold on her books. Was Umbridge implying what she thought she was? "Always. He is a very good teacher."

Umbridge's face fell, and Selene felt a little stab of satisfaction – she was not able to fault anything with Selene's statement. She gestured for Selene to move her hands so she could read the title of the top book.

"_The Ancient Art Of Charmwork…_" She read aloud, a grim little smile appearing back on her face. "Miss Malfoy, this book isn't on the NEWT level syllabus now, is it? May I ask why you own it?"

"Selene is an exceptional witch." Professor Flitwick cut in, nodding at Selene gratefully. "I have been privately tutoring her in Charms for seven months now, and I have given her that book."

Nodding insincerely, Umbridge turned her attention back to Selene. "Miss Malfoy, I would be most interested to see what type of magic you are able to perform. Would you give me a demonstration?"

Selene bit her lip, but nodded, picking up the book and looking for a suitable spell in the contents of it. Then it hit her.

Picking her wand up, Selene traced a complicated pattern into the air and thought '_Amangdus Mudujus'_, pointing her wand at Umbridge.

With a yelp, Umbridge jumped backwards and saw two ugly toads appear where her feet had previously been. Fred burst into laughter at what Selene had done, but Umbridge looked furious.

"Oh _well done_ Miss Malfoy!" Professor Flitwick clapped his hands together. "Twenty points to Ravenclaw!"

Umbridge began to experience the full extent of the spell when she tried to run away from the toads, and they began to follow her, multiplying madly with every step she took.

"Lift this enchantment IMMEDIATELY!" Umbridge demanded, and Selene thought the counter-curse at Umbridge, and all the toads disappeared. "Detention, Miss Malfoy." She gasped, evidently out of breath after being chased by the toads. "Tonight, at seven. My office. An unprovoked attack on a Professor…" She shook her head sadly, but she was sneering.

Selene bit her lip again, looking behind her at Fred, who stared back at Selene with equally fearful eyes. Umbridge moved on to Alicia, slightly ruffled, and Professor Flitwick watched her move with dislike.

God, what the hell had she done? She didn't normally… do things like this!

"Miss Malfoy, would you like to show me your try at the Patronus Charm?" Professor Flitwick prompted Selene, who jumped and nodded.

_"I could fall asleep like this." I yawn and wrap one of my arms around Fred's neck and plant a kiss in a vague approximation of where his cheek is. "You make an excellent pillow."_

_ Thinking on it for a second, Fred lets out a low chuckle. "I'm going to take that as a compliment, my lovely Selene."_

_ "You'd better." I yawn again, burying my head into Fred's neck. "You smell like vanilla."_

_ "Now that's a little bit weird. You smell like strawberries, if I must say something just as weird." Fred retorts, and I can tell that he just rolled his eyes._

_ I flick her eyes upwards. "You just rolled your eyes, didn't you?" I guess._

_ "Now that's just cheating. Do you have dark-resistant vision or something similar from Dad's old Muggle movies?" He queries._

"I have absolutely no idea what you are on about." I admit, resting my head on Fred's chest so my voice won't be muffled.

_ "Right." Fred sits up slightly, and I bunch part of his shirt in my hand. "I have a deal. You show me all of your favourite Muggle music, and I will go through all my favourite Muggle films with you. Does that sound fair?"_

_ I nod into his shirt. "I'd love that." I tell him honestly. "And thank you. I know you say that there's nothing to be thankful for, but there is. Everything."_

"_Expecto Patronum_!" Selene called, and a silvery mist burst out of the end of her wand.

"That was a very good start Miss Malfoy." Professor Flitwick nodded. "Almost a Shield Patronus."

Professor Flitwick moved away from her, and another piece of paper hit her shoulder. Selene glanced behind her at Fred, who mimed someone opening a piece of paper.

**That was ace!** He'd written. **Shame you got detention though.**

_**Don't expect it often. **_Selene scribbled back, chucking it directly at Fred's face, and giggling when it hit his nose.

**Don't sound so cheerful, it's a Blood Quill, remember?**

_**Hypocrite.**_

**So you're not bothered?**

_**Of course I'm bothered you twat. I'm just… not going to freak out over it.**_

**We're passing notes in class. Oooh, rebel!**

_**Would you like me to hex you?**_

**Not particularly, no love.**

_**Then shut up.**_

**This is the point where I normally kiss you, is that what you want?**

_**Oh, for the love of the Holy Hippogriffs, you know what I mean. Shut. Up.**_

Selene chucked this last note back to Fred, who waggled his eyebrows at her but nevertheless shut up.

* * *

"Fred, please, I'll be fine." Selene insisted. "It's just detention, and I can put Murtlap on thecuts after."

Fred sighed, but let go of her arm. "If you get queasy, or even get a small headache, go _straight _to Madam Pomfrey, okay? Promise me."

"I promise." Selene said seriously, covering his hand with hers. "Straight to Madam Pomfrey. Even if it's just a small headache. I'll be fine Fred. I shouldn't be too long."

"I'm walking you up there." Fred stood up, and no one made to stop him. "I have no idea why I'm in the library anyway, and George is expecting me for product testing again tonight."

"You don't have to." Selene said quietly, as they left the library. "I am perfectly capable of walking by myself, you know."

Fred grinned at her for a spilt second, before picking her up like weighed nothing more than a feather and throwing her over his shoulder. "No, you're not!" He teased, hurtling towards the stairs at a speed that would make anyone dizzy.

"Put… me… down!" Selene protested, torn between laughing and hitting him. "I don't really want to turn up early to a detention!"

"If I remember correctly, you have done before." Fred slowed to a stop, pouting but putting his girlfriend down. "You _always _spoil my fun…"

Selene shoved him. "Don't be melodramatic." She complained, slipping her hand into his.

They reached the door of Umbridge's office with a little time to spare. "Don't worry about me Fred." Selene reminded him. "It's just a detention, I've had a few before. It can't be that bad."

Not looking convinced, Fred pressed his lips briefly to Selene's. They heard the door to the office drift open, but when Selene tried to pull away he intentionally deepened it, ignoring her small exclamation of surprise and moving her closer to him by pressing his palm into her back.

"_Ahem_." Umbridge coughed, and they separated, Selene a scarlet red and looking like she wanted the ground to open up beneath her and swallow her up. "That…" Umbridge shuddered and Fred didn't blame her – she had just seen a display of snogging after all. "That will do _Mr Weasley_." She said the last two words with venom.

"And how are you this fine evening Professor Umbridge?" Fred asked, grinning at the aforementioned Professor."

"Mr Weasley, this is neither the time nor the place. Please leave Miss Malfoy with me for her detention." Umbridge instructed, narrowing her eyes at Fred.

Giving Selene one last glance, Fred left, walking along the corridor, leaving her alone with their Defence teacher.

Umbridge's office was bright pink, which was to be expected, and covered in pictures of cats and kittens that mewled and meowed from their frames on the walls. There was a framed picture of the Minister for Magic on her desk, and the window had a view of the Quidditch Pitch and the Forbidden Forest.

"Please, take a seat Miss Malfoy." Umbridge invited, pulling out a seat under a desk that was on the far side of her office. "You'll be writing lines today."

When Selene made to get out a quill from her bag, Umbridge giggled breathily, like she was sharing an inside joke with someone unseen in the room.

"Oh, no Miss Malfoy." She said sweetly, and Selene felt vomit rising in her throat. Umbridge leant over her desk and picked up a black quill pen. The Blood Quill. Selene swallowed down the bile, but was still left feeling sick. "You'll be using a _rather special _one of mine today."

She gave Selene the Blood Quill, and the sadistic grin on her face told all – she knew that Selene knew what the pen was and what it would do to her. "I would like you to write 'I will not abuse my abilities' please, Miss Malfoy."

"How many time Professor?" Selene choked out, resting the quill in the palm of her hand.

Umbridge laughed breathily again. "As long as the message takes to _sink in_." She smiled down at Selene, before gesturing to the parchment. "Go on then Miss Malfoy."

Exhaling slightly, Selene placed the nib of the quill to the parchment and glanced up at Umbridge again. She smiled toothily down at her, before turning to a pile of papers and beginning to mark the top one with red ink.

_I will not abuse my abilities_.

A sharp pain stabbed the back of Selene's hand, and she examined it to see the words quickly being etched into the pale skin there, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

_I will not abuse my abilities._

Thin trails of blood began to run down her arm and drip onto the parchment, and Selene had to bite down hard on her lip to stop herself from gasping with the pain. The familiar taste of metal in her mouth meant that she had bitten it so hard that she had drawn blood.

_I will not abuse my abilities._

This time the message didn't fade away; it stayed, permanently etched into the back of her hand. The cuts were still bleeding, but Selene kept determinedly writing the words over and over.

_I will not abuse my abilities._

_ I will not abuse my abilities._

_ I will not abuse my abilities._

She grabbed the side of the desk as she felt her head began to spin again. "P-Professor U-Umbridge?" Selene stuttered, raising her head from the cuts on her hand.

"Yes? Is there a problem Miss Malfoy?"

Swallowing down her pain and dizziness, Selene shook her head quickly. She could deal with this. So she looked down again, and began to write the words again. Maybe if she wrote enough then Umbridge wouldn't make her do this again.

_I will not abuse my abilities._

This time Selene did gasp, seeing the words red-raw and painful. Permanently etched. How many people had she been doing this to?

_I will not abuse my abilities._

It could have been hours, it may have only been a matter of ten minutes, but by the time Umbridge looked up from her marking again, the back of Selene's hand was covered in blood, and the words were definitely permanent.

"Lets see if the message has sunk in, shall we?" Umbridge asked, standing up to her full height and walking over to Selene, grabbing her hand, almost dropping it when she saw the amount of blood on it. "_Scougify_." She said calmly, siphoning the blood off so she could see the scar.

A little grin of sadistic pleasure allowed itself to show on Umbridge's face as she examined the neatly written words on the back of Selene's hand. _I will not abuse my abilities._

"I think another detention should do it."

"Please, Professor…" Selene was just about ready to pass out already; it was only the pain that had kept her from doing so. "I… I don't think…"

Umbridge shook her head again, walking over to the door and opening it, her sadistic grin still affixed to her face. "No Miss Malfoy. I would like to see you tomorrow too, at the same time. You can go now."

As the door shut behind, her, Selene swore quietly and grabbed a spare sheet of parchment out of her bag, tearing a chunk off and wrapping it around her hand as the cuts began to tint red again.

The worst thing was that Umbridge was expecting her to tell someone. She had that glint in her eyes which told Selene all she needed to know – that if she told anyone then she would simply be fulfilling expectations.

_ The two bodies lie side by side. I can feel silent tears pouring down my face, as I know that no one else knows that I am here, the girl that might as well have killed them is breathing the same air as the people that loved them._

The scrap of parchment fluttered to the ground as Selene gasped, but she quickly picked it up again.

Never mind Madam Pomfrey, she needed to go to Professor Dumbledore.

"_Deaperate_." Selene waved her wand over the scar, watching it fade into her skin again. Hopefully the façade would work long enough for Dumbledore to not grow suspicious.

"Password." The gargoyle asked Selene in a monotone, looking extremely bored.

"Um…" Selene came up blank. "Chocolate Frog?" The gargoyle didn't respond. "Sherbet Lemon? Exploding Bon-bon."

The gargoyle still didn't move.

"Why can't you just have a riddle like Ravenclaw tower?" Selene sighed. "I'm coming up blank. I really need to talk to Professor Dumbledore, can you send him a message please?"

The gargoyle just ignored her.

"Acid Pop!" Selene guessed randomly, and the gargoyle shifted aside. "Oh, um… okay. I guess Professor Dumbledore likes them too then."

From the sounds of it, there were people inside the Headmaster's office, so Selene paused outside, her good hand raised to knock.

"Albus, Madam Umbridge has become an immediate success!" That was the Minister's voice, Selene could tell that anywhere. She had had too many run-ins with him in the past after all, and he was still obsessed that her name was Selena, not Selene.

"Cornelius, I cannot doubt that." Professor Dumbledore was speaking incredibly calmly for the tight spot he was obviously in. "But I must ask _why _Dolores has to have the ability to examine our teachers."

Selene knocked before she could second-guess herself, and the voices fell silent again. "Albus, I thought you said we wouldn't be interrupted." The Minister's voice was distinctly more panicky now.

"Come now, Cornelius." Professor Dumbledore said cheerily, and Selene got the notion that he was expecting her to visit tonight. "It won't hurt."

The door swung open, and Dumbledore smiled down at Selene, his blue eyes twinkling. "Ah, I thought it might be you. How are you this fine night, my dear?"

"Who is it?" A third, silky and infinitely more terrifying voice said, and Selene's eyes widened, her mind telling her to run as fast as she could in the other direction but her feet staying, firmly planted to the spot.

Dumbledore nodded at Selene, almost unwittingly. "Lucius, I believe that isn't of any importance." He said calmly, opening the door even wider so Selene could see everyone in the room.

The Minister took his lime green bowler hat off when he saw who was standing in the doorway to the Headmaster's office. "Ah, Selena Malfoy, isn't it?" He said, his expression grim. "Head Girl this year, I understand."

But Selene was barely paying attention to the Minister. Her father was standing there, barely ten feet away, staring at his daughter like she was a ghost. Lucius Malfoy looked slightly worse for wear, but apart from that he was clutching his cane like it was a lifeline, but still with the same regality that Selene remembered and feared.

"Albus, Cornelius." He said quickly, not taking his gaze off Selene for a second. "Would you, ah, be so kind as to let me have a few minutes alone to talk to my daughter?" Lucius asked, his voice ice-cold and smooth.

The Minister nodded before Dumbledore could get a single word in. "Yes, of course Lucius." The look he gave Selene could have frozen a lake over – evidently it wasn't just the Malfoys and the Weasleys that knew what had happened over the summer. "Take as long as you want." He said, and Selene shivered, his smile reminded her of Professor Umbridge.

Lucius grabbed Selene's arm and tugged her outside the office, as Dumbledore tried to voice his objections but was quickly cut down by Fudge. "Surely Lucius can talk to his daughter, Albus."

The last glimpse that Selene got was of Fudge spinning his bowler hat around one finger while Dumbledore sat at the chair behind his desk, his fingers tented and looking pensive, before she was left alone with her father.

"_What did you think you were doing_?" Lucius growled, letting go of her arm.

"Father, I-"

"TELL ME!"

There was a stinging sensation in Selene's cheek as palm slapped skin, and she covered it with her hand, glaring up at her father with as much hate as she could muster. "I left, Father." She managed through gritted teeth. "I left."

"I know that you insolent girl!" Lucius's hands were bright white where he was gripping his cane in his anger. "WHY DID YOU LEAVE?"

His yell took Selene aback, and she fell backwards into one of the empty portrait frames, knocking it off the wall and sending it tumbling down the staircase. "I didn't want to marry him." She said, in a small voice.

From the pain in her face, her father had slapped her again, but Selene couldn't be sure. "You have embarrassed our family." He growled at her. "You are very lucky that the Nott family haven't withdrawn their proposal. I expect you home at Christmas, and _you will marry Theodore Nott_!"

"I DON'T LOVE HIM!" Selene yelled back, not caring if her father whacked her again or ignored her. "I WILL NOT MARRY HIM!"

She crumpled to the ground as Lucius dug his cane into the back of her leg. "Tell me then." He said sarcastically, as Selene pushed her hair out of her face and glared up at him. "_You will marry Theodore Nott at Christmas_." He hissed. "I expect you to stop seeing that Weasley boy _right now_!"

Selene coughed into her hand, and the glamour placed over her hand began to wear off. "Father." She managed calm, but pricks of pain sparked at her eyes. "I love Fred, and I will not marry Nott."

Her father dragged her up to standing height, and pulled her to him so he could whisper something in her ear. "You do know the Dark Lord wants your brother to become a Death Eater, don't you?" He whispered, and Selene froze. "Maybe if he gets someone else, Draco will be spared."

Tears began to fall down Selene's face as Lucius grabbed her arm, sneering at his daughter. "You WILL marry Theodore Nott." He said sharply. The door to the office opened, but her father just dug the cane ever further into her leg, making Selene gasp in pain.

"Lucius, I do not condone the man-handling of my students in my school!" Dumbledore said, and when Selene looked up his face was alight with anger. "Let go of Selene this instant!"

Her father released his tight grip on Selene's arm, and she fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. "I will be seeing you at Christmas Selene." He finished, sweeping off down the stairs, closely followed by Fudge, who avoided looking at either Professor Dumbledore or Selene on his way out.

Dumbledore wordlessly guided Selene to her feet again and led her into his office, conjuring a chair in mid air and placing her gently in it. "Miss Malfoy." He said, pulling another chair up for himself. "Do you trust me?"

Selene swallowed, choosing to look out the window rather that at Dumbledore. "Yes." She said eventually. "Yes, I do Professor."

"Then I hope you trust me enough to tell me what happened this summer."

Her breath caught in her throat, and Selene's eyes met Professor Dumbledore's. "E-Everything?" She stuttered, as Dumbledore nodded.

She swallowed again, looking out the window at the dark sky. "It isn't too late?" Selene ascertained gingerly.

"It is a lucky coincidence that I happen to have misplaced my clock." He said cheerfully. "Ready when you are Selene."

The use of her first name gave Selene a swell of courage. "Well, I… my parents want me to marry Theodore Nott." She began, and Professor Dumbledore nodded again.

"And I assume this is against your wishes." Dumbledore prompted, watching her nod slowly. "And that you have no romantic feelings towards Mr Nott?"

"No." Selene shook her head hastily. "Definitely not. I was initially hopeful that I would be able to join the Weasleys at the very beginning of summer, but my father he… he had other ideas. My engagement ball to Nott was five days after the end of the year, and I left on that night."

"Presumably to join the Weasleys." Dumbledore predicted, watching Selene go slightly pink.

"Yes Professor. Y-you know the rest, I assume." Selene finished, looking at Professor Dumbledore worriedly.

"Now, does Fred Weasley know all of this?" Professor Dumbledore asked. "And his twin? Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger too?"

"Y-Yes?" Selene asked curiously, as Professor Dumbledore nodded.

Standing up and walking to the window, Dumbledore spoke again. "I would like to stress that you have a great many friends Miss Malfoy." He reminded. "Miss Granger seems especially fond of you."

Professor Dumbledore opened his office door. "That is all Miss Malfoy. I would advise going to your common room now, as Mr Filch had a rather nasty prank played on him by the Misters Weasley, and I do not doubt that he would be rather severe in his punishment if he caught you in the castle at this time of night."

Selene blinked owlishly, but didn't press the subject, instead standing up and managing a smile for Professor Dumbledore. "Um… thank you Professor."

Waving a hand at her and smiling back, Professor Dumbledore stood back to allow Selene through the door. "Please give the Gryffindor team my best for the match!" He said merrily. "And there is no one to thank but yourself, my dear girl."

The next morning, at breakfast, Selene made a point of sitting right between Fred and George, the latter of whom rolled his eyes and shifted down the bench a bit, and the former of whom grabbed Selene's hand before she even had a chance to say hello to anyone.

"Well, my handwriting's neater than yours." Selene joked, as Fred tried to make out the words. "But it's supposed to say 'I will not abuse my abilities'."

He dropped her hand with a sigh. "It doesn't hurt?" He prompted, and Selene shook her head.

"It… twinges a bit sometimes when I write but that's it. You alright?"

Fred jumped slightly, sending his pumpkin juice flying all over Lee. "Yeah, I'm fine love. Filch wasn't very happy with us last night though."

"Let me guess, you charmed Mrs Norris to sing 'Dance Like A Hippogriff'." Selene said dryly.

"How did you know that?" George asked her suspiciously. "You aren't Filch under Polyjuice Potion are you? Prove you're Selene."

Raising her eyebrows, but noticing that George looked at least semi-serious, Selene rolled her eyes and kissed him on the cheek. "Filch couldn't do that without strangling you." She pointed out, noticing George's confused expression.

"She's smart." George stated the obvious, giving Selene a one-armed hug. "Not as smart as me of course, but then, no one is as smart as me."

**Well then. Selene may seem a little OOC with her charm but I didn't have the heart to take it out. **

**QUESTION TIME! **

**Daizychains123 asked The Weasley Twins: What are your favourite prank products to use on themselves?**

**Fred: Well. *strokes imaginary beard thoughtfully* Probably… the Canary Creams. Not because I enjoy being a canary, but they taste nice. I'd eat them all day of they didn't… um… turn you into a canary.**

**George: Oh, definitely Dumbledore Cookies. Basically, you eat one and it turns you into a mini-Dumbledore for an hour. Beard, magenta robes, cool specs and all. I would say Snape Biscuits, but then, who ever would want to be Snape?**

**Anyway. I hope you all like this chapter.**

**Eleanor xxx**


	45. Chapter 44: Breaking The Rules

**Hello everyone!**

**Thank you to Dalonega Noquisi – there's more on that this chapter. But I think they'll be… implications if she does go back for Christmas. Funny ones.**

**And Daizychains123, thanks for your question. See my second AN.**

**HT118, thanks!**

**And Mariene Astriella – wow, thanks. I'm sorry about the funeral. And interesting question! Again, see my second AN.**

**Please review everyone, my top number is 12 for any one chapter and I'd like to thrash it in the near future!**

* * *

"If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere, that's what they say." - Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys

* * *

Chapter 44: Breaking The Rules

"Selene!"

Selene looked up from her Arithmancy homework, instinctively covering her scar with her other hand even though she had placed the spell over it again. Hermione was standing on the other side of the library table, her bushy hair haywire, like she had been running around for the last few hours.

"Hermione?" Selene put her quill down. "Are you okay?"

Nodding, Hermione looked around like someone might be listening in to their conversation. "Are you interested in learning Defence?"

"What?" Selene leant forward over her essay. "Defence? Is that because of Umbridge's lessons and their value?"

"That is one way you could put it." Hermione admitted. "But yes, that is the general idea. Ron's gone to tell Fred and George, and we making him tell Lily." Selene shuddered at the idea of having to do that. "So what do you say?"

Selene ran a hand through her hair and Hermione smirked. "Did you know Fred bites his lip now?" She grinned, and Selene went slightly pink. "And you run your hand through your hair. It's quite cute actually."

"Yes, okay I'll give them a try." Selene said quickly, before Hermione could get any further. "When do they start?"

"First Hogsmede trip, at one." Hermione whispered. "You know the Hogs Head, that pub at the end of Hogsmede? It's almost always empty. We're meeting there. Can you pass the message along to some Ravenclaws for us? Anyone you think would be interested, really."

Selene nodded, smiling at her bushy-haired Gryffindor friend and waving her wand over Hermione's messy hair. It blew backwards like there was a little breeze, and then it fell back to its original position, but much tidier.

"Thanks Selene." Hermione hugged Selene loosely. "I have to go and tell some more people. But remember, first Hogsmede trip at one."

She watched Hermione go with vague amusement, before rolling up her essay and stowing it away, making a mental list of everyone she could tell in her mind.

Padma Patil, the Ravenclaw fifth year female Prefect. She'd want to, Parvati would probably be going too.

Luna, she'd love it. She always seemed to get along well with Ginny Weasley, and wherever her brothers went Ginny would follow.

Selene was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice when someone walked around the corner, colliding with her in the middle of the corridor. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry!" Selene hastily apologised.

Then she stopped in her tracks. "Selene." Draco said coldly, picking up her bag from the floor and handing it to her. "It's nice to see you again."

"Draco." Selene reciprocated, taking her bag from him. "Are… are you okay? I've hardly seen you, and…"

"Maybe if you'd cared enough to come and find me you would have seen me." Draco pointed out harshly. "But then again, you're too consumed with snogging your precious Weasley in the Gryffindor changing rooms to care about me."

Selene blinked. "How do you know about that?" She queried carefully, stepping towards her brother. "Draco, have you been following me?"

"Not me personally." Draco amended, but he didn't deny it. "But yes. It was… a favour Father asked of me. Daphne, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, they've all been helping me."

"Do you have no idea when to stop?" Selene said incredulously. "T-That was… That was private, okay? Who told you that? And I've seen Father, so there's no need to follow me Draco!"

"I don't have enough fingers to list what you've done Selene." He gritted his teeth. "Nott's father withdrew not just the marriage, but his share in the Apothecary too. Father took that as a personal insult."

"And Mother?"

The question hung, unanswered, in the air between the siblings. Draco was paler than he normally was, his jaw set, and Selene was clenching her fists and holding her breath. "I know why." Draco said, quietly. "I know why 'Lene." He repeated, louder.

Using her nickname put Selene off slightly, but she regained her control just as soon. "I know you do Draco." She nodded. "And I understand why Father wanted me followed. But could you tell me what you know?"

Draco sighed, a sound he didn't often make. "I know that you saw Sirius Black over the summer."

Selene gulped. "Draco, who knows about that?"

"Just me and Father." Draco explained. "Father saw him on the platform before we left for school. He licked you, which looked frankly disgusting."

"Sirius Black is innocent Draco." Selene tried to reason with him. "He's our cousin, come on. Please."

"I know he's innocent!" Draco snapped. "Granger is too open with saying things like that to Potty and the Weasel. You don't think I know? Oh, and I know Andromeda Tonks sent you a letter inviting you to meet her and her Mudblood husband and that you're spending Christmas Eve with them! What else, I know that you're going to go to work in Experimental Charms after you graduate and that your precious Weasley and his twin are going to open a joke shop."

Selene sighed too, running a hand through her hair again. "Drake, please j-"

"What did you just do?" Draco's voice was deadly sharp and serious now.

"What?" Selene was taken aback. "I ran a hand through my hair, I do that sometimes. Why? What's the matter?"

Exhaling slightly, Draco shook his head. "Doesn't 'Freddie darling' do that too?" He prodded, sneering. "What is _wrong _with you?"

"This sounds really cheesy, but I'm _in love _Draco!" Selene breathed in sharply. "What else do you know?"

"You've been having panic attacks."

Selene's interest piqued considerably. "Y-You know about that?" She stammered. "Draco, _you can't tell anyone_. Anyone."

"I'm not a five year old." Draco snapped again. "You'll probably be kicked off your Quidditch team if Professor Umbridge finds out. And things are bad enough at home without the shame of having a mental family member."

"They're just panic attacks!" Selene insisted. "I'm not going mad."

"Father can't even disown you, or it'll be all over _The Daily Prophet_!" Draco groaned, ignoring Selene's comment.

Selene felt tears prick at her eyes but she furiously wiped them away. "Draco, stop it now. It won't change my mind."

She pushed past him without a second glance, ignoring his yelling of her name as she whipped around one last time. "I HAVE TO MARRY NOTT AT CHRISTMAS!" Selene yelled at him.

Draco flinched. "You don't." He blinked. "Nott's father withdrew the marriage proposal."

"But Father told me…?" Selene trailed off. "Draco, what's going on?"

Going pale, Draco did something between a shrug and a grimace. "I… I don't know." He admitted.

* * *

"Are you ready?"

Angelina shook her head, reapplying her lipstick and holding her hand mirror right up to her nose. "Give me a few more minutes."

Alicia and Katie both rolled their eyes and prodded Selene, who was sitting next to Angelina with her head in one of the biggest books they had ever seen. "Selene…?" Katie whispered, and Selene jumped.

"Huh?" She asked, and Katie giggled behind her hand. "Are we going now?"

"No." Alicia rolled her eyes in the direction of Angelina. "Angie's just re-applying her makeup. We only wanted to get your attention."

Selene looked around for a little while longer, before going back to her book.

Finally, Angelina shrunk her lipstick and hand mirror and pocketed them. "Yes, we can go now." She said, in answer to Alicia and Katie's unspoken question. "Where are we meeting the twins and Lee again?"

"Honeydukes." Selene spoke again, closing her book with a muffled snap and shrinking it down like Angelina had done. "We were originally going to walk up with them but they got bored waiting for you three."

"What can I say?" Katie shrugged. "Looking this good takes effort, you know. It's only you that can get away with five seconds in front of a mirror."

The three Gryffindors looked over Selene's messy plait and Weird Sisters t-shirt with slight disdain. "Not that a little longer wouldn't hurt?" Angelina suggested.

Sighing, Selene shook her head. "I've got more important things to do."

"Like snogging, probably." Alicia smirked, and ducked the shrunken-down book that Selene chucked at her head. "Okay, okay, I take it back."

"Let's just go." Angelina stood up, and Selene followed her lead. "Or then Fred and George will buy everything in Honeydukes."

Katie giggled, passing Selene back her book, pulling Alicia up with her. "Right, it's one o'clock in The Hogs Head, right?"

"Keep your voice down!" Alicia hissed, checking around her for Umbridge. "We don't want Umbridge to find out."

"Sorry." Katie whispered, as they walked up to Filch, who gave them all a suspicious once-over as he checked their names against the list of people who had permission to go to Hogsmede.

Filch looked at them all curiously, and Alicia realised that they had all fallen silent in the interim. "So, Selene!" She broke the silence unexpectedly. "Um…"

"Yes!" Katie added, as they walked into the grounds.

Angelina and Selene both looked at them like they were mad, and Katie sagged. "I have absolutely no idea." She admitted reluctantly.

"I'm really bad at talking about girly stuff." Selene cut in, before Angelina could get any more confused. "So, can we talk about homework or something?"

Laughing, Katie shook her head. "No can do Selene." She said sadly. "Don't worry, you're getting better. I mean, the first time I met you, all you did was sit there in an awkward silence with Fred, and the conversation really only kicked off when we mentioned Quidditch."

"So, what should we start on?" Angelina asked, rubbing her hands together gleefully.

"BOYS!" Alicia and Katie crowed together, and Selene tried to disappear inside her coat.

Luckily, they largely kept Selene out of the conversation, and let her walk a few paces in front. The glamour had worn off on the back of her hand, and the neatly printed words _I will not abuse my abilities _were clearly visible.

That second detention had done the real damage; Selene had to soak her hand for two hours in a bowl of Murtlap essence while she waited for the skin to heal over the scarring. Also, the spells to cover it up were getting harder and harder to use on the scar, and it was swiftly getting to the point where it's be easier to just leave it as it was.

But ever since that second detention, Umbridge hadn't picked on Selene again.

In fact, Selene had an inkling that her father and the Minister had told her most of what had been said that night outside Dumbledore's office.

"Selene?" Alicia called, and Selene spun her head around, her hair unceremoniously whacking her in the face as she did. "Who was your first?"

"My first what?" It was times like this that Selene remembered just how heavily she had relied on Cho to quiz her up on things like this, and just how many times Cho had to repeat the sentiments to get it drilled in.

Rolling her eyes, Alicia sped up slightly so she was now walking alongside Selene. Angelina quickly walked up to Selene's other side, and Katie was on the other side of her. "First kiss, stupid." Angelina lightly thumped Selene's arm.

The subject was so deliriously happy compared to what she had been dwelling on before, she almost laughed. Instead, she went pink.

"Well, you know Andrew Jones, that Hufflepuff?" Katie giggled, and Selene nodded.

"He's Head Boy this year." She explained, as the others gave her a confused look. "What? You asked if I knew him?"

"It was a rhetorical question." Angelina explained gently. "Go on Katie. Spill the beans. Dish the dirt. Tell us the… uh… melon?"

Katie giggled again. "Well, it was after Harry's first Quidditch match in my third year." She began. "Oliver would have killed me. Everyone else was up in Gryffindor tower, celebrating or suchlike, but I was under the stands. With Andrew."

Selene went slightly red again, trying to disappear inside her coat again but once more failing. "Oh, look!" She called, glad of a distraction from the topic. "There they are!"

"You should wear your hair like that more often. It suits you." Fred grinned, lightly pressing his lips to Selene's. "You alright love?"

"I'm fine." Selene said, exasperated and ignoring Lee's wolf whistling. "Just a bit… I supposed the word would be frazzled. Remind me why I didn't walk up with you guys again?"

"Because you were being nice and waiting for Angelina." Fred reminded her, slipping an arm around her waist and flicking her nose. "And because…" He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I can't quite recall."

Selene elbowed him in the side. "Come on, I guess you want to visit Honeydukes, then Zonko's?" She predicted.

"Don't tell me that you don't go to those places too!" Fred feigned shock.

"Of course I do." Selene huffed. "Stop insulting Ravenclaws, okay? Not that I go into Zonko's, but I go into Honeydukes!"

"Never said you didn't darling." Fred drawled, sneaking a glance at Selene and wincing. "Okay, I promise I will never call you darling again. That didn't have the right… feel to it. What about darlin'? Princess?"

Inwardly groaning, Selene shook her head. "Freddie darling-" Fred scowled horribly. "Just… please no. 'Love' is fine. Cheesy, but fine. Please don't _ever _call me Princess."

"Why?" Fred queried, noting a tint of something buried in her voice.

Selene flinched, and sighed. "M-My father used to call me that." She elaborated. "Princess. Years ago, until I left for school. So… just don't, please."

"Dad used to call me Ka, and George was Boom." Fred grinned. "Possibly a reference to our perchance for blowing things up, I don't know. And I promise that if I ever call you Princess you have an opportunity to…"

"Don't burn your brain cells now." Selene rested her head on his shoulder, suddenly aware that everyone else had already gone. "Honeydukes?"

"Just another reason why I am in love with you. Race you?" He asked, tilting his head to one side to try and see Selene's face without being blinded.

Selene sighed. "Fred, I-"

"Please?" Fred blinked down at her, using the 'puppy-dog eyes' that worked on his mother (whenever he dared to use them). "I know you love my eyes, you can't say no to this handsome face…"

"What? Handsome? Who am I looking at?" Selene joked. "Okay then. But I swear to God that is you trip me over…"

Holding his hands up in surrender, Fred sprinted off, leaving Selene behind to wordlessly shake her head at him and follow at a slightly slower pace.

"Slow down, you git!" Selene yelled to Fred, who was easily outrunning her. "I have shorter legs than you do!"

"It's not my fault that you can't run to save your life woman!" Fred shouted back, swerving to avoid a group of third years. "Ooops! Sorry ladies!"

As Selene bolted past them, she could have sworn that one of the third years whispered something about Harry Potter, but she didn't stop to pursue the subject with them.

"Finally! I've got- _oof_." Selene collided with Fred's chest and fell backwards onto the ground.

Fred burst into laughter, and grabbed his girlfriend's shoulders to help her stand up. "You okay there love?" He said quietly, brushing the dirt off of her coat.

"I'm fine." Selene insisted, smiling up at him and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "No thanks to you, of course. What happened to Honeydukes?"

He abruptly stopped laughing. "I forgot about that. See, that's what you do to me."

Selene flushed, but brushed it off as just another compliment from the mind of Fred Weasley. "So… um… what's your favourite type of sweet?" She asked, as he linked their arms together and began to walk her back towards Honeydukes.

"Is that a question?" Fred scoffed. "Chocolate frogs. Always and forever. They will be my favourite until the day that I die love. What about you then?"

"Acid Pops." She admitted.

"Only Charlie likes those in our family." Fred mused. "One nearly burned a hole through my tongue when I was six. Then we gave one to Ron, naturally."

"Do you _always _pick on Ron?" Selene sighed. "I don't pick on Draco like that. Never have. So why do you always feel the need to… I don't know, why are you two always so mean to him?"

Fred tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, Charlie and Bill always picked on us when we were little." He guessed, shrugging. "Its just second nature when you have five siblings, I guess. I've never questioned it, neither has George."

"You always say five siblings." Selene noted. "Even when you're not with George."

Fred blinked, and nodded. "Again, I've never questioned that. We always seem to function as a single entity, it's like we're one person."

"But you're not the same person." Selene pressed. "I know everyone says you're identical, and you virtually are, but you're not _one person_. It's Fred, and George. Not FredandGeorge. You're Fred, and your twin is George. You've got more… I don't know, spunk?"

"Spunk." Fred said seriously. "I must admit; I expect better of you."

Selene flushed again. "You're right, that was a stupid word to use. You're more confident. George is kind of the brain behind you, he's slightly quieter. Calmer would be a good word. George tends to think things through too much, whereas you hardly think anything through at all. Citing here when you kissed me after the Second Task. Then… you're louder and you talk more, but George likes to get the last word in. And if I was going to ask someone for advice, I'd go to George before you."

Fred took this all in. "You know," He began, lightly brushing Selene's lips with his. "You're the first person to give me reasons why me and George are different. It's nice. It didn't matter so much when we were little, we would just be one person and no one would care. But now we're of age, and… we're different to each other. Thank you"

"You shouldn't be thanking me." Selene reminded him. "It's the other way round. I hardly ever know what to say in situations like this, but I love you, and you gave me a chance. There's no point thanking me Fred, because I owe you everything."

This time, when Fred pressed his lips to hers, he didn't pull away, and Selene scrunched up part of his shirt in her fist, tangling her other hand in his hair.

"Chocolate frogs?" Fred asked, once they had let go, breathless and light-headed.

"Acid pops."

* * *

"Hi." Fred reached the bar in the Hogs Head first, and Selene did a quick head-count of the people for him. "Can we have…?"

"Twenty-seven." Selene supplied for him.

"Twenty-seven Butterbeers please?" Fred finished, and the barman glared at him for a moment, before throwing down his rag irritably and started passing up dusty Butterbeers from under the bar.'

"Cheers." Fred said, beginning to pass the Butterbeers around. "Cough up, everyone, I don't have enough gold for all of these…"

Selene took her Butterbeer from Fred, slipping him a Galleon. "Consider yours paid." She grinned. "Hi Harry." She greeted, perching a couple of spaces away from Neville.

Harry managed a smile-grimace at her, which Selene took for meaning that he was incredibly nervous. She looked around at the rest of the group, involuntarily tensing when she noticed Cho and Marietta glaring at her.

Before she could dwell on it any longer, Fred and George sat either side of her, the former slipping his free arm around her waist and the latter slapping her on the back.

"Well – er – hi." Hermione began, her voice incredibly high-pitched. "Well… erm… well, you know why you're here. Erm… well, Harry here had the idea – I mean I had the idea – that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defence Against the Dark Arts – and I mean really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us – because no one could call that Defence Against the Dark Arts – well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands."

She paused here, looking sideways at Harry. "And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just in theory but doing the real spells."

"You want to pass your Defence OWL too, I bet?" Michael Corner said, watching her closely.

"And NEWT." Selene cut in quickly, ignoring Fred's eye-roll. "Not you, but… you know what I mean."

As Selene went purple, Hermione gave her a placating look. "Of course. But more than that, I want to be properly trained in defence because… because…" She took a huge breath. "Because Lord Voldemort is back."

Marietta shrieked and slopped her Butterbeer down herself, Selene instinctively clearing it up for her. Terry gave a kind of involuntary twitch, Padma shuddered and Neville yelped.

"Well... that's the plan, anyway." Said Hermione. "If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to-"

"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" Said the blonde boy at the back in an aggressive voice.

"Well, Dumbledore believes it-" Hermione began.

"You mean Dumbledore believes _him_." Said the boy, nodding at Harry.

Lily stood up so she could be better seen at her height. "Zacharias, where's the proof that you have a brain?" She sneered at him. "Did the zombies get it? I knew the apocalypse-"

"_Lily_." Hermione said sharply. "That's enough."

"If you've come to hear exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone I can't help you." Harry said, and his face looked to be heating up. "I don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, all right? So if that's what you're here for, you might as well clear out."

He cast an angry look in Hermione's direction, and Selene looked around. No one was moving, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"So." Hermione's voice was very high-pitched again. "So… like I was saying…. If you want to learn some defence, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet and where we're going to-"

"Is it true." Interrupted the Hufflepuff girl at the back. "That you can produce a Patronus?"

Selene knew this of course, but she was still impressed all the same. "Yeah." Harry admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"A corporeal Patronus?" The girl added.

"Er – you don't know Madam Bones, do you?" he asked.

The girl smiled. "I'm Susan Bones, she's my auntie. She told me about your Patronus. So – is it really true? You make a stag Patronus?"

"Yes." Harry said again, looking slightly less defensive.

"Blimey Harry!" Lee said, looking deeply impressed. "I never knew that!"

"Mum told Ron not to spread it around." Fred grinned at Harry. "She said you got enough attention as it was."

"She's not wrong." Harry mumbled, and Selene laughed.

"Note he says Ron." She added. "Not him and George."

Harry cracked a grin at this.

"And did you really kill a Basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" Demanded Terry. "That's what one of the portraits on the wall told me when I was in there last year…"

"Er- yeah, I did, yeah." Harry said.

Lily grinned evilly, and Selene tried to reach across to stop her standing up again, but she was too late. "And is it true that you drove off a three headed dog with a fork?" She asked eagerly, and the majority of the room burst into laughter. "And that Lockhart tried to disembowel you with a lawnmower?"

"Er, no Lily." Harry said, but it sounded like he was biting back laughter himself. "Who told you that?"

"And what's a lawn-whatsit?" Lee asked Lily interestedly.

"Muggles use them to cut grass." Lily shrugged. "Dad once had a ride-on one that he rode into our kitchen."

She and Selene shared a grin at this story, being the only two people in the room that understood the inside joke.

"And in our first year." Said Neville to the group at large. "He saved that Philological Stone –"

"Philosophers." Hissed Hermione.

"Yes, that, from You-Know-Who." Finished Neville.

"And that's not to mention." Said Cho. "All the tasks he had to get through in the Triwizard Tournament last year – getting past dragons and merpeople and things…"

"Yes, yes, Harry's done loads of amazing things." Fred rolled his eyes dramatically, and people laughed again.

Harry had gone rather red at having his achievements listed out aloud, and was unable to elaborate on anything that had been said, so Hermione stood up. "I think we'd ought to write our names down." She reached down to grab a sheet of parchment and a quill pen from her bag. "So we have a record of everyone who came to this meeting as a means of getting back to you all, when we decide the meeting place and the time."

She sid the sheet over to Fred, who seized the quill pen and scribbled his name down eagerly, passing the parchment to George.

"Well…" Ernie Macmillian began, rubbing the back of his neck and looking slightly worried. "We are Prefects…"

"Do you think I'd leave that sheet lying around?" Hermione demanded, as Ernie went rather pink.

"No, no, of course not." He amended, watching George pass the parchment and quill to Selene somewhat dubiously. "You're not going to join up, are you?" He asked her quickly. "After all, you're our Head-"

Selene inked her name just below George's, nodding at Hermione, who looked placated. "I am." She confirmed quietly, giving the paper to Lily.

There were no other objections, except for Marietta's distrustful glance at Harry and Smith's ovious reluctance, and the parchment went around the group fairly quickly.

"Well." Fred stood up, almost whacking his head on the table. "George, Lee and I have business to attend to. We'll be seeing you all later."

Group by group, the students disappeared, and Cho gave Harry a little smile as she walked out of the door, bumping into Selene in her confusion.

"Um… Sorry." Selene muttered, moving away from Cho and Marietta, running to catch up with Lily. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

She didn't see the sad look Cho shot after her.

**Ooh, interesting. Thanks to The souless ones for supporting the decision I have recently made. She has a Divergent story up – so if you are that kind of person you should read it. And yes, she did bribe me into shouting that out for her.**

**But what do you think about Draco's statement? What's going on? **

**QUESTION TIME!**

**Daizychains123 asked Fred, George, Selene, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco: If each House moved common rooms for a week, which would you choose to go to, excluding your own?**

**Fred: Hmm… Probably not Slytherin. Hufflepuff most likely, as I've heard they're close to the kitchens. Ravenclaw would be full of books and stuff so definitely not there. **

**George: Strangely, I'd choose Slytherin. But before you start judging me, that'd be so I could trash their common room into the ground and then some. What can I say? **

**Selene: Most definitely Gryffindor. I've only been in three of the four House common rooms, and I can't choose Ravenclaw and Slytherin has never appealed to me. It's cosy, it's nice… **

**Harry: Hufflepuff, because from what I've heard their common room is too disimilar to ours. I'm only saying that because I like ours.**

**Ron: Really? Do I have to pick one? *****ducks a book thrown by yours truly* Okay, okay. Ravenclaw. Or Hufflepuff. One of those, I don't care. I'm busy.**

**Hermione: Ooh, Ravenclaw! The Sorting Hat said it might put me in there, and it'd be a good learning experiance. Also Selene's told me a bit about it, and it sounds like a more colourful version of the library.**

**Draco: *sighs* Right, okay. Ravenclaw. Gryffindor… *shudders*, just no. And Hufflepuff would be a disgrace. My father will hear about this question.**

**Mariene Astriella asked Draco: If you were to fall in love with someone your parent's didn't want you to, would you be willing to do what Selene did?**

**Draco: Maybe. I don't know. There is one big difference between me and my sister, and that is that Selene is nice to pretty much **_**everyone**_. **Maybe. But I doubt it will ever happen. **

**Well, thanks for all of the questions! **

**Please review!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	46. Chapter 45: The Slytherin Who Cared

**Hello!**

**Thanks so much to The souless ones (x3!), I do recognize the reference, I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I think I'm insane, and that I'm obsessed with the fact that lions… er…have manes! **

**Guest (or, cmeatmebro), good ideas! I'm going to try and add them in, but they might not work. No idea yet, sorry. And I'm sorry, but I think I'm sticking with canon (at least until the Seventh book… mwah ha ha!).**

**BellatrixD – Thanks! Ka-Boom, I got that while I was nodding off in French last Friday, thought it deserved its five minutes of fame. I think I've become a fluff bunny, although I think there's an absence of real fluffy moments in this chapter. Except between Selene and one of my favourite unseen characters of all time. **

**Dolonega Noquisi, I wouldn't be so sure! After all, I'm sure Malfoy senior sticks to his threats, even if he lied a little. Also, look out for more Draco/Selene in a few chapters! But she is Fred's, always, completely totally. Remember that (again, mwah ha ha!). And Cho really has, as this chapter elaborates on. Thank The souless ones for that.**

**And to We're All M-M-Mad Here (love the username by the way :D), that was a little detail I didn't think of for… ages, to be honest. I just make stuff up on the spot.**

**HT118 - :D How's this for soon? Five pieces of homework given to me in the space of two days and I still find time to update!**

**MarineAstriella – DA time indeed. Next chapter should be the first meeting, if all goes to plan. And I don't know about that, but I think she's going to put up a fight all the same.**

**Well. That was an awesome amount of reviews! What, 9? :D See, I couldn't be happy without all of you guys! Enjoy this chapter, and please tell me what you think about my addition of everyone's favourite unseen character!**

* * *

"I wouldn't change a thing about it, this is the best feeling." - Innocence by Avril Laveigne

* * *

Chapter 45: The Slytherin Who Cared

_All Student Organisations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organisation, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge). No Student Organisation, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor. Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organisation, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled._

"Holy shit." Angelina swore, looking up at the large notice that had been displayed outside Umbridge's office. "Does that mean…"

"Yes Miss Johnson." The girls all jumped, to find Umbridge standing behind then, looking sickly sweet as always. "That includes the house Quidditch teams."

Angelina's eyes grew wide, and she looked like she was about to die. "But Professor-" She began.

Umbridge tutted and shook her head. "_Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor_." She quoted, smiling sweetly at Angelina. "I look forward to seeing you in my office this evening Miss Johnson, that is, unless, you would rather that the Gryffindor Quidditch team stays unreformed? I suggest you come too Miss Malfoy."

"I'm not Ravenclaw Quidditch captain Professor." Selene reminded, fiddling with the sleeve of her shirt. "Cho Chang is."

"Well, it would be good if you reminded Miss Chang then." Umbridge nodded curtly, before disappearing into her office, shutting the door behind her with a resounding thump.

Angelina and Selene stared after Umbridge for a few seconds in disbelief, before Angelina shook her head sadly. "She'll never let us reform." She said sadly. "Not with Harry telling her that You-Know-Who's back in every lesson he has with her. And the twins confuse her even more every DADA lesson, so we've got no way through this mess."

"It'll work out." Selene soothed, quietly leading her friend away from the office. "You can always appeal to Professor McGonagall if she won't let you reform, she has a little control over the school anyway. And Harry will be reasonable if you talk to him."

Angelina didn't look convinced, but she let Selene lead her into the Great Hall. "Guess what." She said glumly, avoiding everyone's gaze.

"What?" Harry asked quickly, looking from Angelina's expression to Selene's silent annoyance. "What's happened?"

"The Educational Decree also applies to Quidditch teams." Angelina said slowly, shaking her head. "Umbridge is never going to let us reform."

"What?" Fred said angrily, looking over to Umbridge's empty spot on the Top Table. "That…"

"That toad!" George finished for him, looking murderous.

Selene gave the pair a quelling look. "For the love of Rowena, don't prank her." She warned them both. "That'll make it even harder for the team to re-form. I have no idea how we're going to get ours back too, Umbridge has a personal vendetta against me."

"Umbridge doesn't think you're a liar." Harry pointed out, glowering at his breakfast.

"Umbridge is trying to dispose her as Head Girl." Hermione added, much to Selene's surprise. "Don't look so surprised, it's obvious really Selene."

Before Fred and George could decide something rash, Selene stood up. "I really need to go and tell Cho about this… this development. Sorry. Harry, keep out of trouble."

Harry grabbed Selene's sleeve. "Do you know anyone else that knows about… the meeting?" He asked her urgently, looking around and ignoring Hermione's eye roll. "Someone that wasn't in the Hogs Head?"

"What, and you suspect she told someone?" An unexpected voice piped up, taking the group aback. Ron's ears went rather red at the attention, and he shrugged. "I mean, Selene's not going to tell on us, is she?"

"I quite agree." Lily slipped into the spot vacated by Selene with a grin. "Ooh, has anyone heard the rumour yet?"

"What rumour?" Alicia sat up eagerly, as any gossip that she hadn't heard was gossip worth knowing. "Please Lily."

"What will I get for it?"

Alicia searched through her bag, before drawing out a black notebook. She began to flick through it rapidly, pausing at a well-thumbed page. "Blaise Zabini has a crush on Ginny Weasley."

Fred, George and Ron all choked, and Lily smirked. "Perfect." She spelt out. "That will come in handy. Oh blackmail, blackmail, so happy you make me!" She stopped her smirking after seeing the look on Alicia's face. "Oh, okay. Get your quill ready Allie, this will be good blackmail too. Apparently Umbridge sleeps with a picture of the Minister for Magic under her pillow."

"No way!" Alicia gushed, scribbling this incriminating evidence down in her little notebook. "You are amazing Liliana Cedrella Tonks!"

Lily grinned again, making a big show of flicking her hair away from her face. "I know."

"Hey, how come we didn't know about this?" Fred looked vaguely insulted. "This-"

"Would have been so useful last year." George completed, wearing an identical expression to Fred.

Lily shrugged. "Sorry you two." She apologised, not really sounding apologetic. "But only idiots and my favourite cousin trust you two. If I had told you two about Alicia's notebook of Wonderfulness, what would have happened?"

"This is my cue to leave." Selene cast a warning glance at Lily. "Lily, don't-"

"What? Eat them?" Lily shook her head sadly. "You're loosing your touch Sellie."

As Selene walked away, she caught a glimpse of Alicia scribbling Dora's nickname for her into her 'notebook of Wonderfulness' and George, Harry and Ron snickering, whist Lily grinned like a cat that had got the cream.

Marietta looked up at Selene mistrustfully as she approached, standing up to create a human barrier between her and Cho. "What do you want?" She asked slowly, looking around like everyone was looking at their conversation.

"I need to talk to Cho." Selene said quietly, dropping her eyes. "It's important."

Marietta opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but Cho stood up before she could get a word out. "It's okay." She walked around the human barrier. "I need to talk to Selene too. I won't be long."

When they were out of sight, Cho looked around before beginning. "I'm sorry." She blurted, startling Selene into silence. "I overreacted, I know Fred didn't mean to piss me off. I've heard rumours about what happened to you over the holidays and… it's made me feel so… bad okay?" She spat, but she didn't sound angry. "I loved Cedric, and I know you love Fred." Tears were starting to slow now. "It hurts so much, you know?" She sobbed. "He's dead, and it hurts so much. I… I saw the way Fred put his arm around your waist at the meeting like Cedric used to do to me, and it hurt! It…"

She did a huge, gut-wrenching sob, and covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm so sorry!" Cho sobbed, and Selene threw her arms around her, the tears starting to come for her too.

"I missed you Cho-ster." Selene whispered.

"Do you understand?" Cho gasped, wiping her tears away. "Do… you know what it feels like?"

Selene choked on her breath, and nodded wordlessly. "I think about that too much." She admitted. "War's coming and… I'm worried. The Weasleys are going to be involved in this war, and if they are I am too. I saw first hand the things that happened at the hands of Voldemort and his Death Eaters last time, and… I don't want it to happen again."

Cho pulled away with a fragile smile. "I missed you too Sel."

* * *

"Selene?" Angelina queried, looking from Cho, to Selene, and back again. "Why are you here?"

To her surprise, Cho elaborated. "She's my moral support." She explained lightly, her tear-stained eyes for once slightly brighter and her smile meeting her eyes for the first time since the fallout of the Third Task. "Hopefully Umbridge will take Ravenclaw more seriously with an authority figure asking too."

Angelina looked from Selene to Cho suspiciously, but then shrugged. "Okay." She said calmly. "You two were fighting though, weren't you?"

Cho nodded sagely. "Yeah." She admitted, exhaling heavily. "But I was being stupid. C-Cedric wouldn't want me to fight with one of my - our friends." She corrected adamantly, relaxing slightly.

Flint stood forward from where he was slouched against the wall. "Oh look." He sneered. "Come on Chang, who in their right mind is going to listen to Draco's jaded older sister?"

Angelina tensed, and glared at Flint with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. "Come on Flint, who in their right mind is going to listen to a part-Troll?" She countered. "You first then, if you think you're so special."

Flint did go first, and he came back not five minutes later looking incredibly pleased with himself. "Good luck Worm-head." He snickered to Angelina, who rolled her eyes and turned to Zacharias Smith.

"You next Smith." She gestured to the office door.

"Why me?" He whined, but he begrudgingly trudged towards the door.

Hufflepuff were given permission to reform too, and Cho volunteered to go before Angelina.

"Ah, Miss Chang." Umbridge greeted sweetly as the two girls stepped into her office. "Oh, and Miss Malfoy! Tell me, to what do I owe this… unexpected pleasure?"

"I would like to seek permission to reform the Ravenclaw Quidditch team Professor Umbridge." Cho recited, determinedly avoiding Umbridge's beady gaze.

Umbridge nodded, taking out a sheet of paper from her desk drawer. "So, you play Seeker, do you not Miss Chang?" She asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "And you have Mr Burrow, Mr Davies and Miss Malfoy a your Chasers, Mr Page as your Keeper and Mr Warren and Mr Waterhouse as your Beaters."

"Yes, Professor Umbridge." Cho chanted.

"Well then." Umbridge smiled sweetly. "I would ask you to re-assess your decision to let Miss Malfoy back onto the team this year Miss Chang."

Cho started, but she kept her polite tone. "May I ask why Professor Umbridge?"

"Among other things." Umbridge stood up, and Selene had to bite back a smile when she noticed that she was a good foot taller than her. "Miss Malfoy is… ah, not quite well, I hazard?"

Cho shot a puzzled glance at Selene as Umbridge continued. "Collapsed in Ancient Runes, running a high temperature, flashbacks and panic attacks, headaches… keep close eye on all mental, physical and social activity, speak to Severus about possible poisoning, contact St. Mungos… Well, I must say." Umbridge smiled for a split second, before dropping it. "Do you feel well enough to participate in physical activities Miss Malfoy?" She asked faux-anxiously.

"I do, Professor." Selene said quietly, sneaking a glance at the paper. Emblazoned along the top was the lettering of 'HOGWARTS HOSPITAL WING'. How did she get that? Madam Pomfrey had said it would be confidential, and Selene had enough trust in that woman to believe her. "It has not happened since, and Madam Pomfrey says that it was a one-off occurrence." She lied through her teeth, adding the words: _that is likely to happen again _in her mind.

Umbridge looked like she had swallowed a lemon. "Is that so." She said curtly, stamping a red stamp onto the other sheet quickly. "Miss Chang, the Ravenclaw Quidditch team has been cleared."

"Thank you Professor Umbridge." Cho moved to go, but Selene remained.

"I would like to give you a reference for the Gryffindor team Professor." Selene explained, in answer to Umbridge's unspoken question. "Angelina Johnson is an excellent student and an excellent player, Fred and George Weasley are well-liked among the students here at Hogwarts, Ron Weasley is hard-working and respected, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell are also well-liked and Harry Potter is respected, and has been know to _tell the truth_."

Selene said the last few words with a light slant, and Umbridge looked up with an expression not unlike the one Narcissa Malfoy often wore, like there was an unpleasant smell underneath her nose. "Ah, as _lovely _as your references are Miss Malfoy," She began snidely. "Only I decide if a team can be reformed or not. Needless to say, I won't need to _dog _your footsteps any longer."

Selene blinked. _Dog _her footsteps… Umbridge was smiling at her nastily now, with almost a delighted expression. It made her sick to the stomach. She knew, didn't she? Umbridge knew that Sirius Black had been spotted on Platform 9 and ¾. Umbridge knew that Selene had been in regular contact with her Uncle.

She only just made it to Myrtle's bathroom when she finally threw up.

* * *

Needless to say, Madam Pomfrey wasn't pleased when she saw Selene walk into the Hospital wing, looking paler than ever, a translucent blue colour spreading over her bare skin. "What did I say about coming straight to me?" She said sternly, guiding Selene over to an empty bed. "Sit here until I come back."

She bustled away, leaving Selene to her thoughts. Something was wrong, Selene could tell that for herself even without a certified Healer's opinion. To put it how Lily would say – duh! Ravenclaw in the vicinity!

"What are you in here for then?" Selene jumped at being addressed, looking up at the familiar face of Astoria Greengrass. She must have registered her shocked expression, because she then scoffed. "Oh come off it. I'm not going to eat you. You look like hell, by the way."

It was so refreshingly blunt to be described that way. Selene managed a little smile that didn't make her face ache like she thought it would. "Oh, you know. Overwork." That little lie was becoming second nature to her now. "Madam Pomfrey has to keep an eye on me, things like that. Nothing terribly serious."

Astoria held up one arm. "Broken arm." She said simply. "Fell down the Dungeon stairs a couple of days ago. Again, nothing serious. I haven't seen you since the Botched Ball."

Selene flinched. "What was it like after I… I disappeared?" She hazarded, looking up at the younger girl warily.

"Mr Nott went berserk." Astoria smirked. "Your father was angry, really angry. Your mother wasn't saying anything and I think your little brother had sloped off with Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle previously. Mum and Dad got Daphne and I out of there pretty quickly, all things considered, but we were only there in regards to social status, not friendship. Then we were all called back the week after, so your father could ask us all where you were."

Selene bit her lip. "In case you were curious, I dropped down from my balcony and apperated once I was outside the wards. Splinched myself pretty bad-"

The room began to spin again, and Selene's breathing grew progressively shallower and faster. She closed her eyes and willed the room to stop moving, but it still whirled around and around and around. Astoria was yelling for Madam Pomfrey, and just like it had been in the Grimmauld Place kitchen, her voice sounded detached and distant. How had she stopped it before?

_The sea._

_ Fresh air in the early morning._

_ "When the night is cold, and the stars are gone, I will be there for you. When the day is done and there is no one except you, I will be there for you. When the Lethifold approaches and your wand is snapped, my Patronus will be there to save you. And you know that as long as the phoenix survives, you will never be truly alone."_

"Drink this." Someone passed Selene a goblet of some strange kind of potion, and pressed it to her lips. She dutifully took a sip.

It tasted like a sickly mix between mint and beetroot, and triggered Selene's gag reflex again. But the Hospital Wing stopped spinning almost instantly, so Selene swallowed the rest of it down, shuddering at the aftertaste it left.

"Who was singing?" She asked, once she could get a sentence out that would make verbal sense.

Madam Pomfrey and Astoria Greengrass both looked puzzled. "No one was singing Miss Malfoy." Madam Pomfrey decided on after a pregnant silence, taking the empty goblet from Selene – it was still giving off a strange light purple mist. "It's lucky I had Severus make some of this only the other week, I don't know of anything else that would have worked."

"Thank you." Selene said quietly, as Madam Pomfrey moved to get her notes.

"What do you mean?" Astoria queried.

"You could have just left me like that." Selene managed another smile. "Most Slytherins aren't exactly friendly towards me, especially not since my Nott disaster."

Astoria shrugged. "I like you." She admitted. "I remember when Mum and Dad first took me to meet your family, and Draco was showing off to Daphne. They were, what, eight? And you were ten, and Mum told me to go and talk to you while they discussed something with your parents. And you were so quiet, much quieter than anyone else I'd met, but you took me to the kitchens and showed me all the secret passageways in Malfoy Manor. I would have liked to talk to you more often when I came here, after I heard that you had transferred, but Daphne told me that I shouldn't. Apparently you getting into Ravenclaw had caused a huge scandal and that she thought that we should lie low."

"Do you still like chocolate brownies then?" Selene smiled, as a glimmer of memory passed her by.

Astoria coloured, the pink of her skin setting off her blonde hair in a way that most girls would die for. "They are my favourite dessert."

"That's strange." Madam Pomfrey mused aloud. "I can't find the notes on you anywhere Miss Malfoy."

Umbridge had them. "Maybe…" Selene's breath caught in her throat. She'd made one stupid mistake with Professor Umbridge before, was this in the same stripe? "M-Maybe one of the teachers has them?"

Madam Pomfrey looked at Selene sharply. "Are you…" She nodded briskly. "I… I think I need to go and speak to Professor Umbridge then. Miss Greengrass, please ensure that Miss Malfoy stays here?"

"Yes Madam Pomfrey." Astoria nodded. "How long will you be?"

"With luck, only a few minutes." Madam Pomfrey nodded too, but she sounded less than certain. "But knowing Dolores…"

"Do you like Umbridge?" Selene asked Astoria, after Madam Pomfrey had disappeared.

Astoria shook her head, after her momentary shock had been dispensed with. "No way." She shuddered. "Most of the Slytherins do, and it's really aggravating. Have you heard what she's doing for detentions?"

Selene held up her left hand as an answer. Astoria gasped. "Oh god." She breathed. "Not you too? You're Head Girl, what did you do to get detention with Umbridge?"

"I… er…" Selene went red. "I might have hexed her in Charms class."

Astoria's eyes just about popped out of her skull. "No way did you do that." She said slowly.

"I did." Selene confirmed, sighing. "I seriously don't know what came over me, I just kind of… snapped."

The two girls were both silent for quite some time now, Astoria gently began to re-arrange some of the flowers in a nearby vase. "So, you don't think Umbridge is a good teacher." An inkling of an idea was coming to Selene now.

"No." Astoria grimaced, an expression that her parents would hate for being too unladylike. "Definitely not."

"And what do you think of Harry Potter?"

This question hadn't been anticipated. Astoria blinked a few times, swallowed and looked around. "I…" She began. "I think… he seems alright, you know? I don't think he's… that he's lying by any means. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back."

Selene stood up, ignoring the flash of pain she got from the sudden movement. "Astoria, how would you like to come to some Defence classes?"

"Really?" Astoria was pleasantly taken aback. "You're inviting a Slytherin to what will probably be a mostly Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff event?"

"I think you'd like it." Selene hazarded. "I can come and find you when we find out when it starts, Harry hasn't figured out a time or place yet."

The younger girl's face fell. "I… I don't think I can." She admitted gingerly. "Daphne will almost certainly try to find me during this class, and I don't think she's the kind of person who would think it harmless. It's better if I don't."

Selene sat down again, feeling a pang of pity for the Slytherin. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." She murmured, feeling her face heat up. "I don't always think about things like that."

"Not many people do." Astoria admitted. "And don't feel bad, I'd love to but…"

Madam Pomfrey came storming in at that moment, holding a bunch of papers in her left hand. "I can't believe Umbridge!" She seethed, rifling through them at a tremendous pace. "But enough of that… here we are."

Selene saw the same page that Umbridge had read aloud from earlier and fought down more vomit. Astoria was quietly dismissed by Madam Pomfrey, and she gave her newfound Ravenclaw friend a parting wave as she left the Hospital Wing.

"Right." Madam Pomfrey scribbled something onto the parchment. "As that potion seemed to work, I think we need to put you on that until I diagnose you. Miss Malfoy, have you had any other panic attacks or flashbacks since I last saw you?"

"Well…" Selene ran her finger across the words carved into the back of her hand. "I had one when I was in detention. It wasn't a major one, and I recovered quickly."

Madam Pomfrey's gaze flickered down to Selene's hand, before she reverted her eyes to the parchment. "Detention with Dolores Umbridge, I expect?" She said scathingly. "Did you put Murtlap Essence on the cuts?"

"Yes Madam Pomfrey." Selene bit her lip.

The Matron nodded, and scribbled a last note down onto the parchment. "You'd better be going now." She nodded, her voice underlined with anger. "It's almost curfew."

"Thank you." Selene stood up again, this time the pain was lessened considerably. "Are you… are you okay?"

Madam Pomfrey waved her hand in a gesture of unimportance. "Don't worry about me Miss Malfoy." She insisted, smiling a rare smile. "Worry about what's happening."

* * *

"Well, Buckbeak." Sirius patted the Hippogriff's neck. "It looks like it's just you and me again."

Buckbeak let out a squawk and flapped his wings a few times, before gulping down the mouse that Sirius offered him.

"Harry's doing well, don't you think?" Sirius began, glancing at the window momentarily before looking back at Buckbeak. "He's starting a Defence group, did you know that?"

Sirius sighed before continuing. "Umbitch nearly caught me though." He grimaced. "Had a podgy hand in my head, not a nice feeling."

Buckbeak squawked again, and Sirius shook his head. "No, she's not a mouse, sorry mate. And her real name's Umbridge, I got the nickname through Tonks, who got it from her little sister. Man, I'd like to meet Lily some day. She sounds like a lot of fun." Sirius sighed again. "Shame that Aunt Dromeda wants to keep at least her little daughter safe."

Sirius stood up quickly to close the curtains – there was too much light in the room – and then picked up the second bag of rats and chucked a couple to Buckbeak. "I have no idea how Selene manages to get those letters to me. She's always been smart, remind me to ask her next time I see her."

Buckbeak cocked his head to one side and squawked mournfully. "I sometimes forget that you're only a Hippogriff mate." Sirius groaned. "Maybe Azkaban has unhinged me."

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" Sirius jumped, and Buckbeak squawked again. "PANCAKES!"

As alarming as it was to have your full name yelled through the house by your best mate, Sirius could never resist Remus's pancakes. Even if it was nearing midnight because aforementioned best mate had been up all last night on an Order mission.

Two could play at this game. "REMUS JOHN LUPIN, I'M COMING!" Sirius yelled back, upending the bag of rats onto the bed in front of the Hippogriff and charging full-pelt down the stairs.

"Aw, were you talking to Buckbeak again?" Tonks grinned, pouring liberal amounts of Firewhiskey over Remus's pancakes.

Sirius gave her a dirty look and a dirty gesture, before sitting down at his place at the table and banging his knife and fork. "ME WANT PANCAKES!" He screeched childishly.

"Shut up or you won't get any." Remus turned around from the stove, and Sirius and Tonks burst into laughter. His apron was definitely one belonging to Mrs Weasley – it was pink, frilly and had 'WITCH WEEKLY' emblazoned across it. "I mean it. My apron is not funny. Someone…" He cast a darkly significant glance at Tonks here. "Hid all the other ones."

"It suits you Remmy." Sirius said, with a straight face. "Very… um… manly."

This is the point where Tonks whipped a Magical Camera out of nowhere and snapped a picture of Remus pouting, frying pan in one hand and trying to tug his apron off with the other.

**I personally love the dynamic of Sirius/Remus/Tonks. There will be a lot more from them, no worries!**

**QUESTION TIME!**

**The souless ones asked Draco: Would you ever fall in love? And if so, how do you think about Lily or Luna?**

**Draco: God no. Lily's my cousin, and I don't support the idea of inbreeding. Mother doesn't either, I don't think. Or she'd be trying to marry me off to Lily already. And who's Luna? Is she the weird Ravenclaw girl that my sister likes? Never her then. Seriously, I despair for the future of the human race when people like you are the next generation.**

**The souless ones asked Lily: Who would you go out with?**

**Lily: *****grins savagely* No idea. One thing, I'd probably stab them to death before the first date. Did you hear what happened to the last guy who tried to kiss me? He's still in therapy.**

**MarineAstriella asked me (Eleanor): Are both Fred and George going to live through the series and then some?**

**Me (Eleanor): Hope so. That's my current frame of mind… oops, said too much. You'll have to wait and see, but they won't both die. **

**Well, thanks to everyone and goodnight… er, good afternoon-ish!**

**And my parting words are: I hate Year 10 so much. All of you younger than me, stay where you are. You will die before you reach 15.**

**Eleanor xxx**


	47. Chapter 46: The Beginning Of A Lot

**Vell vell vell! Vat do ve haf here?**

**Sorry. I just wanted to learn to speak like Viktor Krum. WARNING! Updates will be slowing soon, as a result of homework, auditions for our school play, my Grade 3 guitar coming up, coursework for my GCSEs, after-school Physics, soon to-be rehearsals for my school play and finally getting my arse in gear and producing a social life from the depths of my agenda. **

**But, I love this story too much to give it up, so despite how long I might take or even if I take a little hiatus, this will be seen through to the end. Granted, it might take a few years to get there.**

**On Wednesday, I will be 15 in 6 months! Sorry, again I'm a little hyperactive. Another random fact, listen to the song I reference in this chapter. It's ace!**

**Thank you to The souless ones – dreadfully sorry dear. But I don't understand. That is my motto, after all XD.**

**Dalonega Noquisi, well, I've decided to go one way or the other. There's just a little canon stuff to get through first. Not much, but it will get there. And it will affect the rest of the series.**

**Gurl5678 (x3! I think… heh heh) I love pancakes. Though waffles are my favourite. Wow, loads of questions! I have two little sisters, so I know what you mean. I'm the oldest, by 2 and a half and then 12. Geez, I'm old…**

**MarineAstriella: It wasn't like I was going to tell you now, was I? Thanks for the luck, I've carried it with me and so far I think it's worked. I haven't died yet anyway.**

**bellatrixD, I love Astoria for so many reasons. And my best friend threatened to kill me if I didn't make Selene and Cho make up. Incorporating so many characters is really hard, but I'm getting the hang of it. Which is good, because there will be an onslaught of older people in the next book, and not all of them will be nice… Mwah ha ha! Oh, thanks for the encouragement. But it doesn't seem like that from here, unfortunately. **

**MysteriousMindBlockedHeart: Hello again! Glad you liked it!**

**So, low down on this chapter. Bit of Ron, bit of twins, bit of Dobby, a flashback that isn't a flashback it's a filler because I wanted to add this little bit in, the first DA meeting and a revelation!**

**Oh, and I've swapped polls for a bit on my profile. What do you want Selene's patronus to be? You can choose from Fox, Bluebird, Swan, Hummingbird or Doe so far, but PM or review if you have any more ideas/wants.**

**So REVIEW! Please?**

* * *

"Light a fire, a flame in my heart, we'll run wild, we'll be glowing in the dark." - Charlie Brown by Coldplay

* * *

Chapter 46: The Beginning Of Many Things

"Remind me why I'm doing rounds with you today?" Ron groaned, banging his head on the table in front of him.

Selene looked up from her clipboard and resisted the urge to roll her eyes – she could at least try not to aggravate him. "Well, I thought that you see enough of Hermione during the rest of the week, and that to pair you with one of the Slytherins would be suicide, so I swapped Hannah Abbot with me so you wouldn't get into too much trouble."

This didn't exactly pacify Ron, but his non-committal grunt was all Selene was going to get. "But…" He stuttered, searching for a reasonable excuse. "You're… you're… you're my brother's girlfriend…?"

"You're my boyfriend's brother." Selene countered, looking out of the window. "Come on Ron, I'm trying to do you a favour."

Ron banged his head against the table again, but stood up. "How long are rounds going to take then?" He complained. "Because Harry's probably bored to the teeth-"

"And you have homework." Selene finished for him. "You've repeated that about twenty times Ron, and I told you – it takes as long as it does. I have more homework than you do, and I have to sort out a detention for a second year, so please stop moaning and groaning about it. Harry will be fine, I've made sure Hermione's got her night off tonight."

With a little more coaxing, Ron eventually agreed to continue the Prefect rounds with Selene, but it grew slightly awkward quicker than anyone would have thought possible.

"Well." Selene forced herself to break the awkwardness – she had got enough of that from Fred and her to last her a lifetime. "Um… have you found anywhere to hold the meetings yet?"

Ron perked up. "Oh, yeah!" He realised, facepalming. "I was meant to tell you – the seventh floor corridor. Do you know where the Room of Requirement is?"

"I've heard of it. Is that tomorrow night then?"

Ron nodded. "At eight. Can you tell everyone in Ravenclaw, I don't know how all of us are going to spread the message in 24 hours?"

"No problem." Selene smiled slightly. "Who gave you the idea?"

"Harry talked to Dobby about it." Ron explained.

Selene's face lit up. She hadn't seen Dobby since last year, a week or so before Christmas. It had been very unexpected to say the least, the house elf had been cleaning the Ravenclaw common room and presented her with a pair of lurid socks wrapped in orange and pink spotty wrapping paper. He'd then thanked her for being so kind to him during his time with her family. She hadn't seen him since.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked, and Selene started.

"Oh, sorry." She flushed. "I'm fine. Just got a bit distracted, that's all."

They were silent again for quite some time, not running into any late-night wanderers or even any teachers. Then Ron cleared his throat jerkily and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I was… er… wondering." He began gingerly. "Wondering whether… erm… well, Harry met Dobby in our second year… and we were wondering whether… erm… whether…"

"Whether I gave him permission to come and warn Harry?" Selene asked quietly, and Ron nodded. "I… He didn't have permission when he disappeared the first time, but I gave him permission after he admitted to me where he went."

Ron blinked. "Um… okay." He said slowly, and then he shrugged. "I'm not surprised."

Selene chose not to pursue this topic.

* * *

"The kitchens are just down here." George half-pulled, half-dragged Selene down the corridor, with Fred following behind at a slightly more leisurely pace. "What is it you wanted to do anyway? You aren't going to try and set them all free like Hermione?"

Selene laughed and shook her head. "No, I just wanted to say hello to a house elf. Dobby, his name is."

George stopped dead in his tracks. "The mad one?" He grinned. "He's the one Harry freed, isn't he? How do you know Dobby then, is he some jilted ex-lover of your father's?"

Choking with laughter at the idea, Selene shook her head quickly. "Oh, no, but it'd be funny if Dobby was." She admitted, frowning at George. "And it's given me a mental image that no one wants to see."

"Yes George." Fred said, in a voice soaked in sarcasm. "No one wants to hear about Lucius Malfoy shagging Dobby the house elf, despite the fact that Alicia would probably kill to have it in her little black notebook."

"Dobby's our family's ex-house elf." Selene explained, blanching at Fred's comment.

"Oh…" The twins chorused, facepalming each other.

The group came to a stop in front of a large painting of a bowl of fruit. Selene stood and stared at it for a little while, before turning to George and raising one eyebrow. "Um, this isn't the kitchens George." She pointed out.

George rolled his eyes, and reached out to tickle the pear that sat right in the middle of the bowl of fruit. It giggled, which made Selene jump backwards slightly, then turned into a doorknob. "Oh ye of little faith." He grinned.

"I thought you were meant to be clever?" Fred teased. Selene glared at him, which only made Fred grin. "I was only joking love, calm down."

"Mr Weasley, Mr Weasley!" A young elf ran up as soon as they entered the kitchens. "What can Nibby get for Misters Weasley?"

Inside the kitchen, the four house tables were lined up, presumably directly under their normal positions in the Great Hall. House elves were scurrying around everywhere, most of them greeting Fred and George personally, whilst Nibby grinned up at Fred and George excitedly.

"Nibby, meet Selene Malfoy. Selene, this is Nibby." Fred introduced, grinning back at the house elf, whose ears were dragging along the floor, they were so large.

"Nibby is pleased to meet Miss Malfoy!" Nibby squeaked. "What can I get you?"

"We were just looking for Dobby actually." George explained.

Nibby's face fell almost funnily. "Misters Weasley and Miss Malfoy are looking for Dobby?" She asked, sounding disapproving. "Certainly. But Dobby is a bad house elf, Dobby is wanting wages and Professor Dumbledore is giving Dobby wages. Dobby is a bad house elf sirs and miss."

But despite her words, Nibby led them over to where a large cluster of house elves were chopping up carrots. One of them looked up as the group approached, his face lighting up in a broad smile. "Mistress Selene!" He chirped, jumping away from the other house elves.

"Hey Dobby." Selene greeted, smiling down at him. "I keep saying, you don't have to call me Mistress any more."

Dobby grabbed a large frying pan nearby and almost began to whack himself on the head with it, but Selene caught his arm just in time. "Thank you Mistress." He said gratefully, replacing the cooing utensil in its earlier position. "Dobby still finds it hard to believe that he isn't still with his old masters Mistress. And Dobby would like to call you Mistress."

Behind them, Fred and George were blinking, surprised at the warm conversation girl and house elf were having. "Um…" Selene had gone rather pink. "Thank you Dobby, but I'd rather you call me Selene, or at least Miss."

"No thank you Mistress." Dobby smiled up at Selene. "Mistress has done a lot for Dobby, Misters Weasley." He explained, to the twins.

Selene tried to hide her face in her hands as Fred nodded thoughtfully. "Right, Dobby." He said, after mulling this thought over for a little while. "Could you bring us three hot chocolates and some of that chocolate cake from dinner please?"

Dobby bowed deeply, and instantly vanished into the crowds of house elves again. "So, what do you think?" George asked, slinging an arm around Selene's shoulders and gesturing around at the kitchens. "Neat, isn't it?"

"It is." Selene admitted, looking around at all the friendly house elves and the hustle and bustle of the kitchen in general. "Hermione's not going about any of S.P.E.W. in the right way. If they like the way they live, then it'll be harder to help them in any way. But I guess if there are more house elves like Dobby-"

"No." Fred said suddenly. "You are not going to talk about spew at _all, _okay? You're not in the same house as Hermione, you don't have to listen to her going on about it whenever she's not doing homework."

Dobby re-appeared with three large mugs of hot chocolate and three generous slices of chocolate cake. "Here we are sirs, Mistress!" He squeaked, placing the things on on of the tables. "Enjoy!"

"Thanks Dobby." Selene smiled slightly, and Dobby looked like he might die from happiness.

"Mistress has thanked Dobby!" He exclaimed. "Dobby has…" Dobby trailed off. "Sorry Mistress and sirs." He apologised. "Dobby still remembers when he was with the Malfoys Mistress and sirs. But Dobby is free now." He perked up. "Will sirs and Mistress say hello to Harry Potter when they next see him?"

"Of course Dobby." George grinned at his twin as the house elf ran off back to his carrots again. "That elf's as mad as a badger in a jam jar, but he's nice I guess."

"No, he's as mad as a monkey on a Firebolt doing backflips around _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_." Fred corrected quickly. "As mad as-"

"A babbling, bumbling band of baboons!" They chorused, clinking mugs.

Selene stared at them for a second, before blinking and shaking her head. "Sorry, but what do you mean?"

"Ohhhh…" George facepalmed. "You weren't there, were you? Right, it was when McGonagall was telling us about the Yule Ball-"

"And she was spouting some nonsense about not letting the school down." Fred continued. "Oh, and something about 'inside every girl lies a swan and inside every boy is a lion', or shit like that."

"Then Professor made Ron dance with her." George finished, sighing and leaning back in his seat.

Selene choked on her cake. "And let me guess." She said, after she had got her breath back. "You're never going to let it go, am I right?"

"Never!" The twins chorused again proudly.

"Now, you have to tell us a funny story from your pre-Weasley twins life." Fred instructed. "Go on love."

She thought for a few moments, before biting her lip and barely containing a grin.

_"Oh, please no." I groan, almost tripping over my own feet as I stopped in the doorway of the Great Hall. "Cho, Marietta, do you know what's going on?"_

_ I turn, and I see my two best friends smiling soppily and gazing at Professor Lockhart with something akin to admiration that makes me want to vomit. "I think it's Valentine's Day." Marietta smiles, and waves to a Hufflepuff boy I have never seen before, who grins and waves back._

_ I have always both hated and enjoyed Valentine's Day, ever since I was a little kid. It has the unlucky traits of both being a day in which cheesy is appreciated (which does appeal to me somewhat) and a day that makes single people feel both annoyed and ever more single._

_ And now it looks like someone's puked pink paint over the Great Hall._

_ "Thank you, thank you." Professor Lockhart stands up and claps for silence. Don't get me wrong, I think he's handsome, but he's a bit too full of himself. And I've read too much critical material about his books to take him even a little seriously, and so many people believe he's a fraud. _

_ "Thank you to the twenty-five people who have sent me Valentine's cards so far today!" He smiles around at us all, and I meet Cho's gaze quickly. She sent him one, along with Marietta. I almost signed it too, but…_

_ "Why don't you ask Professor Snape to whip you up a love potion?" He continues, and my gaze drifts to the man in question, who looks about as full of Valentine's cheer as a goblet of Pepper-Up Potion. "And Professor Flitwick knows more about Valentine's charms than anyone else I've ever met, the sly old dog!"_

_ Professor Flitwick holds his head in his hands, and I resist the urge to vomit myself. Like I said, I have a hate/love relationship with this holiday, but sometimes it can go a bit too far._

_ But nothing really of note happens until that afternoon, right after I step outside the pink Great Hall after lunch._

_ "Oi, are you Selene Malfoy?" One of Professor Lockhart's 'Card-Carrying Cupid's' that somehow also resemble miniature trolls lumbers up to us._

_ My face flushes pink, and I nod slowly, thankful that Cho, Marietta and I are some of the first ones out of the hall. Who would want to send me a Valentine? Really? The only boys I know are my brother, his friends, Roger Davies and a first-year Gryffindor called Colin Creevey that Professor Flitwick asked me to tutor at the beginning of the year. And none of them would send my Valentines._

_ "Got a card for you." The miniature troll grumbles, passing me an envelope with my name written on it in curly handwriting._

_ "Oh, um… thanks." I stutter, moving away from the mini troll as fast as I can._

_ "You got a card!" Cho squeals, taking the envelope from me. "Ooh, I wonder who it's from?"_

_ "Well, we can rule out anyone I know." I shrug, taking it back. "None of them like me in that way. Who else could it be?"_

"Who was it?" George asked in anticipation, rubbing his hands together. "Anyone we know?"

Selene flushed, and nodded. "Um… it was…" She began, turning a shade of red that had previously not existed. "It was from Marcus Flint."

The twins took one long look at each other before bursting into laughter.

* * *

"Wow, this is amazing." Selene gasped, spinning around and almost running into Ron as she did so. "It's huge, just look at all the dark art detectors and the books and…"

"We hid from Filch in here, do you remember?" George asked his twin, smirking at Selene's awe. "But it was just a broom closet then."

"I think if Selene sees anything else this cool then she might just die." Fred grinned, as the girl in question went over to the bookshelves with Hermione and picked up a huge tome that looked to weigh about 5 tons.

Selene heard this comment but didn't actively pursue it, instead looking at the title page of the book she had picked up – _Moste Anciente Magick_ – and sharing a glance with Hermione.

"These are amazing!" Hermione reflected, brushing the dust off a book she'd picked up. "The Room of Requirement has really outdone itself!"

"Right!" Harry raised his voice to speak above all the chatter going on in various places in the Room. "If you could all gather round, get a seat…"

Everyone raced to grab cushions and sit in a circle in the middle of the floor, Harry standing up so he could be seen better overall. "So, we need a name." Hermione began, and people immediately chimed in with proposals.

"The Ministry of Magic are Morons group!" Fred suggested proudly, ignoring the glance that Selene sent his way.

"MMM for short!" George continued, sounding enthusiastic. "Then if someone asks any of us what we're up too we can go MMM in a high pitched voice!"

"Maybe something that won't tell anyone exactly what we're doing perhaps?" Selene reminded, colouring when everyone turned to look at her.

"Like… Kill People With Vampires, or KPWV?" Lily grinned at the Creevey brothers, who looked at her fearfully.

Hermione shook her head before anyone could approve that idea. "Definitely not. _Sensible ideas_, please."

"What about the Defence Association?" Cho put in, and there were many murmurs of consent. "The DA for short?"

"We could make DA stand for Dumbledore's Army, because that's the only thing You-Know-Who is afraid of." Ginny cut in, and there was a general laugh among the group.

"But I think Defence Association is better." Selene added quickly. "That way if anyone wants to join then they'll know exactly what they're in for." Her mind drifted slightly to Astoria Greengrass.

"Oh, come on." Ron grinned. "Dumbledore's Army sounds so much better."

"All in favour of Dumbledore's Army?" Hermione asked, counting the hands in the air mentally. "Right, there we have it then."

She wrote the name across the top of the list in bold letters, then got up to stick it to the noticeboard. Harry nodded, then turned to face the rest of the DA. "Right, I thought we'd start with Disarming Spells." He explained.

"But why do we need to use those?" Zacharias Smith sneered. "It's not like they'd be any use against You-Know-Who."

"It saved my life last summer." Harry said quietly, and a hush fell apon the group. Selene studied her hands carefully, knowing that at least one person would be looking at her. "And if you don't think it's worth learning, you might as well go."

Smith went purple, but didn't move. Harry swallowed, and looked back at the rest of the group. "So, everyone pair off then." He instructed. "Focus on Disarming, me, Ron or Hermione will be walking around to help you if you get stuck."

Selene stood off to one side, knowing that the twins would go together, then Lee and Katie, and Alicia and Angelina. Lily moved closer to Luna, and Hermione partnered Ron for the moment.

"Um… could you come with me?" Neville asked Selene quietly, taking her aback immensely. "That is, if you don't mind…"

"That's fine." Selene said honestly. "Um, okay. Do you want to try and disarm me then?"

Neville stood back and held his wand in a steel grip. "_Expelliarmus_." He said decisively, and Selene's wand barely twitched. He sagged visibly. "Sorry." He apologised.

Selene bit her lip and stepped closer to him. "You're moving your wand wrong." She explained. "It's not a jab as such, it's a more fluid circular motion. Watch. _Expelliarmus_." She said calmly, and Neville's wand flew into her outstretched hand.

"Okay." Neville nodded, and took his wand back. "So, like this. _Expelliarmus!_"

Instead of getting Selene's wand, he sent her flying backwards into the bookshelf, which emptied itself of books when she hit it and buried Selene in paper. "Are you okay?" Neville asked anxiously, rushing forward to get Selene out of the mound.

"What happened?" Harry asked, coming to stand next to Neville and give Selene a hand up.

"I can't do it." Neville explained sadly. "Selene can, she tried to show me but I keep getting it wrong."

Harry nodded, like he had expected this. "Right, Neville. Try to keep Selene on her feet maybe, as a start. Selene, can you stand here?" He gestured to a spot opposite himself. "What you need to do, you have to have confidence in yourself Neville. Then the spell will come naturally. _Expelliarmus!_"

Selene's hand came spiralling out of her hand, and landed neatly in Harry's. As Harry gave her her wand back, Neville took Harry's spot in front of her, and repeated the incantation. This time her wand twitched slightly.

"Well done, I think it almost worked!" She congraulated, watching Neville's face as he turned red.

They worked for a little longer (Neville steadily improving with each try) until Harry blew a whistle. "That was great everyone!" He said encouragingly, looking specially at Neville. "Remember, you have to be confident for it to work so it will work."

Hermione tapped Selene on the shoulder. "Harry wants to give a demonstration, and I think you'd be good." She explained. "Just simple spells, like a mini-duel. Nothing major."

Selene blinked owlishly. "Um…" She began, looking around. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Hermione said, nodding. "Neville, you can get on for a bit without Selene right?"

"I think so." Neville nodded.

Lily skipped over from the other side of the room and grinned at Neville. "Come on Nevvs." She invited. "Come and join with Looney, uh, I mean," Selene had shot her a look here. "Luna and me."

Neville brightened visibly and nodded thankfully, ignoring the fact that Lily was going to kick his arse. "Oh, thanks."

He was led off by Lily, who grinned over her shoulder at her cousin toothily, making cutting movements across her neck forbiddingly. Selene was tempted to follow them, just to keep on eye on her savage cousin, but Hermione dragged her the other way. "They'll be fine." She said convincingly. "Harry will keep an eye on them three, and Luna's just about as destructive as Neville too."

The two girls positioned themselves opposite one another, Hermione looking a lot more confident than the Ravenclaw. "I just want to practice with you a few times." Hermione explained quickly.

"What does Harry want us to do?" Selene asked carefully, ignoring the grins and smirks Fred, George and Lee were sending her way.

"Basically, show a few spells we'll be covering in later meetings in detail." Hermione shrugged. "I wanted to pair with someone who wouldn't kill me, and someone who could cast a decent Shield Charm."

Selene flushed at the casual praise, and nodded. "Okay. I think I'm up for that."

"Right." Harry turned to Hermione and Selene. "Um… Hermione, Selene, try not to kill each other please."

Hermione nodded, keeping her eyes focused on her opposition. Unseen by Harry, the twins shared a look. "Bet you 16 Sickles." Fred said quickly. "Selene will win."

"You're only saying that because she's you're…" George looked at Fred. "Girlfriend."

"Your innuendos are getting old." Fred said simply, turning away from his twin.

"They never will Freddie darling." George smirked. "It's a bit hrd to overlook that I walked on you getting it on with Cheesecake dear in the Gryffindor changing rooms."

Fred grumbled something under his breath.

"Right, okay." Harry continued. "Everyone else, keep an eye on these two. Hermione, Selene, try to stick to purely defensive magic alright?"

"That's like asking Lily to stop sneaking into the Forbidden Forest!" Someone called out, gaining a rude gesture from the girl in question.

"Anyway, 3…" Harry ignored both the gesture and the speaker. "2… 1… GO!"

Hermione cut right in. "_Stupefy_!" She yelled, and Selene blocked it with a Shield Charm. "_Reducto_!"

Ducking the debris that stemmed out from the spell, Selene cleared it with another wave of her wand. "_Relashio!_" She shouted, avoiding Hermione's Jelly-Legs Jinx.

Their spells gradually grew more and more destructive, until they were keeping the precaution of keeping a Shield Charm up between spells. Harry tried to intervene, but was held back by Lily. Colin Creevey snapped a few pictures of their sordid, apparently harmless battle, before he was pulled back by his brother.

Selene gave up trying to be fair, and sent three non-verbal spells at Hermione in quick sucession, which destroyed her shield barrier, then two disarming spells one after the other. She dropped Hermione's wand though, and Hermione grabbed it before Selene could.

Harry blew his whistle loudly, and the two girls sagged in relief. "Thank you!" Harry yelled above the hubbub, stuggling away from Lily. "That was… great, thank you Hermione, Selene."

"Who won?" Fred raised an eyebrow.

"Hermione." George said proudly.

"No, actually, I think Selene did." Lee cut in. "She would have beat Hermione if she hadn't dropped her wand, at least."

"Shut up Lee." George pouted.

Harry blew his whistle again for silence. "Well, that was really good, thank you everyone!" He called out. "We just need to work out the date and time of the next meeting."

"Next week!" Dennis Creevey piped up quickly.

"Nah, sooner!" Lily grinned.

Harry looked extremely gratified at this. "But it can't clash with our Quidditch practice." Angelina reminded everyone, and the rest of the Quidditch team rolled their eyes inwardly.

"Or ours." Cho added, nodding at Selene with a smile across the room.

"Or ours." Smith echoed, but no one was really listening to him, and he went a lovely shade of purple when he saw the filthy look that Lily was giving him.

"How does Wednestday sound?" Harry asked the group, then nodded when there were no objections. "Okay, I'll see you all on Wednesday then. Keep practicing, some of you are getting really good!"

"Granger?" Fred called, walking across the room towards the Golden Trio with his hands in his pockets. "Who won?"

Hermione flushed red and shook her head. "Technically, no one did. If Selene had caught my wand then she would have won, but then she dropped it so…"

"Great, my girlfriend's clumsiness has cost me 16 sickles." Fred grumbled, shaking his head and reaching out to ruffle Ron's hair. "Well done Harry mate, this seems pretty cool."

"Oh, thanks Fred." Harry exhaled visibly.

"It was really good Harry." Selene spoke from behind Fred. "Neville was doing really well, you're an excellent teacher."

"And that's sucking up." Fred pointed out, turning to grin at her. "You'll have to do better than that love."

Ron fake-vomited behind Harry, who just looked extremely uncomfortable, whilst Hermione smacked Ron upside the head and sighed. "Can you not do that here?" Ron frowned, looking around at the emptying room. "Especially not in front of me?"

Selene elbowed Fred sharply when she tried to put his arm around her waist. "Sure." She said easily, feeling her face redden.

As she pulled Fred over to George, who was waiting with Cho in the corridor outside, she groaned and looked at him as sternly as she could. "Stop _doing _that!" She murmured, looking back over to where Ron was still grumbling.

"Doing what?" Fred asked innocently.

"Making a big show of everything, okay?" Selene continued. "It embarrasses me, and freaks out everyone in the near vicinity. So please… Just, don't do it so much _please_."

Fred sighed, and took her hand. "I like embarrassing you though, you're really cute when you blush." He turned to look at her after he said this, and smirked when she had gone pink. "And when you bite your lip. And-"

"This is exactly what I mean." Selene swallowed, and looked back at him. "Everyone knows that we're dating by now, you don't need to keep drawing attention to it _all _the time. I still like being able to have serious conversations with you, and you sometimes act like we're just-"

"Come on!" Cho burst in, obviously too impatient to keep it in any longer. "We still have to catch up on everything Sel!"

Fred rolled his eyes. "You might not have noticed that we're discussing something here Chang." He said coldly, glaring at Cho.

He still hadn't forgiven Cho for the way she had treated Selene for the last few months, and as a consequence he hardly talked to her, and when he did it was coldly and abruptly. Cho didn't like him any more than he liked her, so she didn't care either way.

"Well, I'm sure you can talk about it later." She answered coolly, crossing her arms.

"Cho, can you give me a few moments?" Selene cut in quickly, before anything major happened.

"I don't like her." Fred said, once Cho had begrudgingly walked a few paces away. "How can you still be friends with her after all she's done to you?"

Selene shook her head. "No, we're not getting into this now Fred." She insisted. "She apologised, it's over and done with. And can we just-"

"Sure." Fred said quickly, taking Selene aback. "I'm still going to embarrass you, but not all the time. I'll save it up. You going with Chang then?"

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow." Selene kissed his cheek, then dropped her hand, walking back to where Cho was waiting with a very bored George.

Fred grinned inside, shaking his head. She was going to regret it, in the end…

Or very soon.

**WOOH HOO!**

**So, what do you think Fred's thinking of? No matter if you can't guess, I'm still two ways about it myself.**

**QUESTION TIME! (I love these, don't you?)**

**The souless ones asked Lily: Are you sane enough to be allowed on the Quidditch team? And what position would you play?**

**Lily: You know, I've never asked. Professor McGonagall would probably let Lee commentate how he wanted on every match before allowing me on the team though. But if I was on the team I'd be a Beater. Smashing everyone's skull in, you know how it goes… **

**The souless ones asked me (Eleanor): When does Sirius meet Lily? And what is his reaction to her?**

**Me (Eleanor): Ha, he does, and soon. Keep your trousers on dear, it'll be soon. His reaction? Shan't tell you. It shall be a SURPRISE! (But it'll be funny, and include a bit of foul language if all goes to plan).**

**The souless ones asked me (Eleanor): Does Selene ever figure out the flashbacks? Because they're getting a little tiresome.**

**Me (Eleanor): As I said at the beginning, yes. But the flashbacks are important to the plotline (well, most of them are) but I might be having a chapter completely set in the past. Hooray for writer's block!**

**The souless ones asked Ron: What is the real reason behind Selene's flashbacks? And how do you think they shoulf be stopped?**

**Ron: Me? You're asking me this? *raises eyebrow* Right. I think she's getting possessed by - (gets whacked by yours truly) Ow! I must be right then. And we can stop them by whacking Selene with a shovel. I think.**

**Gurl5678 asked Draco: Do you **_**like **_**either of the Greengrass sisters?**

**Draco: Huh? I know Daphne, and she's just a friend. And I don't know a thing about Astoria. Why do you ask?**

**Gurl5678 asked The Weasley twins: Are you seriously going to run away to your joke shop?**

**The Weasley Twins (**_**Fred **_**and George): **_**How do you know we might do this? Are you- **_**a spy? Can we- **_**trust you? **_**And we don't know. **_**Selene would kill me. **_**That she would brother of mine. I will read something at your funeral. **_**For the love of god, please don't read out 'Fluffy Bunnies and their Adventures'. **_

**Gurl5678 asked Narcissa: Do you really love Lucius, or was it just an arranged marriage?**

**Narcissa: Yes, I do love him. *marches off with her nose in the air* **

**Gurl5678 asked Blaise Zabini: Please ask Ginny out on a date!**

**Blaise: Huh, me? Ask that Blood-Traitor out? I don't know where you've been getting your information from, but since it's so *blushes* wrong, I don't care.**

**MarineAstriella asked Buckbeak: Is Sirius annoying when he talks to you? **

**Buckbeak: Squawk! (AN – roughly translated, that means YES!)**

**MarineAstriella asked Sirius: Who is your favourite cousin? Lily, Selene or Tonks?**

**Sirius: I don't have favourites. Lily sounds frankly awesome, Selene is like my little sister (which gives me free-range to hate on her boyfriend) and Tonks is my other sister, my cool one. Don't tell Selene or Tonks I said this, but when I meet Lily, she'll probably be my favourite.**

**MarineAstriella asked Me (Eleanor): Are Fred and Selene going to get married within a year after they leave Hogwarts?**

**Me (Eleanor): Maybe. I think I'll go for a loose yes at this moment, but take 'marry' in the loosest sense. My poll results have given me a three-way tie.**

**MysteriousMindBlockedHeart asked Draco: ****Do you see your current status in life as a result of pressure and intimidation from your parents or it is where you truly want to be?**

**Draco: Wow. That's deep. I've never considered that. I think… it isn't where I want to be. If I'm honest, I wish I were as strong as my sister. She's always seemed strong to me, throughout my whole life. I just wish I'd find a way out of it, as I'm obviously not going to fall in love with a Weasley. But… I don't always like where I am.**

**MysteriousMindBlockedHeart asked Lily: IF you tame down a little, who are you most likely to marry?**

**Lily: What? Me, marry? Are you insane? Do I have to answer this question? Okay. I fancy Lorcan d'Eath (AN – Look on Harry Potter wiki) but he's way too old, maybe… maybe Lee, I have no idea! **

**MysteriousMindBlockedHeart asked Me (Eleanor): Are you taking my idea into consideration?**

**Me (Eleanor): Yeah, I am. But I have so many ideas, that I don't know which one. But yours is in the pot, Hakuna Matata!**

**Wow. THAT was a lot of questions. Keep asking them! Three chapters left until the Big 50! Let me know if you want me to do anything special, like a sing a-long.**

**Please review!**

**Eleanor xxx**


	48. Chapter 47: Her Greatest Desire

**Oh, hello!**

**Only got three reviews for the last chapter, could I try and get five or more for this one? Yes, I know my ANs were really long last chapter, but that's an occupational hazard.**

**But thank you to the three people who did review. The souless ones (yeah, I know), GUrl5678 (no problem!) and HT118.**

**I'll keep this short. Please review. One line is enough. Although, long reviews make me really happy. **

**Enjoy this chapter; this idea has been a long time coming. Tell me what you'd like to see. Sorry there isn't much drama in these few chapters, but I am a slave to my compassion towards Selene. Give her a break. **

**I am also thinking of making a companion fic to this story. Just a load of drabbles, one-shots, the like. Let me know what you think! **

* * *

"All this feels strange and untrue, and I won't waste a minute, without you." - Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol

* * *

Chapter 47: Her Greatest Desire

"So, it's a combination of Moonstone and Hellebore?" Neville asked, watching Selene carefully as she nodded at him. "Golpalott's Third Law, right?"

Selene let out a breath she hadn't realised that she'd been holding. "Perfect." She smiled, feeling a sense of calm pass over her. "See? All this extra work will pay off." She insisted, gesturing to the essay that lay between them. "Your OWL isn't for another few months, but it's never too early to revise."

"You sound like Hermione." Neville grinned, carefully writing the next paragraph.

Selene nodded again, suppressing an eye roll. "Hermione has the right idea." She admitted, sitting up straighter. "Although I think you hardly need to do anything in Herbology."

Neville went pink and shook his head. "I'm not amazing." He said quickly. "Professor Sprout just thinks I have a lot of potential, that's all. I'm not getting extra lessons like you are."

Her extra Charms lessons had mostly been focused on theoretical Charm work since Selene had expressed an interest to enter Experimental Charms, as Professor Flitwick explained that there was a mandatory examination procedure to go through that consisted of two written exams, two practicals and one outside-the-workplace hands-on experience.

Professor Flitwick had determined that Selene should be more than able to take the test after her graduation, and had set her piles of homework to plough through at every extra lesson. It had become quite common to spy the Ravenclaw digging through huge tomes to reference from at almost all free hours of the day.

Selene blushed, but smiled and nodded slowly. "I'm not that good." She insisted, taking the opportunity to look at Neville's essay. "Right. So what are the properties of Moonstone?" She quizzed him.

"Dusty… has a sheen…" Neville trailed off, and expression of sudden realisation spreading over his face. "Thank you!" He gushed, scribbling this information down on the rapidly filling parchment. "That'll get me to three feet!"

Ever since the first DA lesson Neville had been seeking Selene out to tutor him in various subjects, first Transfiguration, then History of Magic, Charms and eventually Potions, who he had previously only trusted Hermione to tutor him in. He had cropped up in so many places around the school, especially when she was talking to Fred, that Selene had set up a regular time to tutor him in whatever he was having trouble with, despite her own growing workload.

"You're overworking." Fred had said at the time, his face screwing up in puzzlement. "I thought Madam Pomfrey had put you on strict orders to take it easy?"

Selene had managed to get him off the topic, promising herself that when Madam Pomfrey diagnosed her condition that she would come clean to all her friends, not just Fred. But she could tell that everyone was growing suspicious, especially as she was tutoring Colin Creevey again in Charms.

But the good thing was that there had been no incidents for a good few weeks, not since Selene had met Astoria Greengrass in the Hospital Wing.

Every time they passed each other in the hallway, Astoria would smile as inconspicuously at Selene, and they had talked a few times in the library. Selene smiled at the thought – Astoria was living proof that Slytherin's weren't all bad, even if no one would believe her about her brother.

But one of the topmost things on her mind was the upcoming Gryffindor/Slytherin match. Selene had seen her brother making crown-shaped badges a few times in the library, and he was often humming a song under his breath that didn't sound good for the Gryffindor's. She had expressed this fear to Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Fred, George, Ron and Harry, but they all told her to cool off, adamant that Draco couldn't do much.

Selene wasn't so sure.

"Are you okay?" Neville asked her concernedly, stirring Selene from her onslaught of thoughts.

"I'm fine." Selene insisted. "Just a bit overworked, that's all. NEWTs wait for no one."

"Fred and George never do any revision." Neville pointed out.

Selene shrugged. "Fred and George aren't applying for a crazily hard-to-attain job." She reminded. "I'll be competing with people twice my age, and I'll be just out of school. I have to work hard."

Neville looked at her strangely. "You are okay, aren't you?" He ascertained uncertainly, rolling up the long sheet carefully. "You look really tired."

"Oh, I'm fine, don't worry." Selene insisted, managing a smile. "I'd worry about your Christmas exams personally, but I think you'll do just fine Neville. Even in Potions."

"Hmm… what rhymes with _fat _and _ugly_…?" Neville jumped out of his skin as an all-too-familiar voice sounded from the other side of the shelf. "Cat? Hmm… _His mother's so fat she looks like a pregnant cat_?"

Draco rounded the corner, looking up from the sheet of parchment he was reading aloud in mingled surprise and disgust. He sneered at Neville, who cowered, then dropped it instantly when he saw his sister. "Oh." He said curtly.

Selene hadn't talked to her brother since the night before the Hogs Head meeting, and everyone seemed to be pleased with that fact. George had gone as far to threaten Draco with a week of non-stop pranking if he talked to Selene again.

"What are you doing Draco?" Selene sighed, closing the Potions book with a thump and looking dead at her brother. "Why do you need a word that rhymes with _ugly_?"

"And how is that any of your business?" Draco glowered, slipping the parchment into his robe pocket quickly. "What are _you _doing in the library?"

"I'm tutoring Neville in Potions." Selene explained, holding up the fifth-year Potions book as evidence. "Like I do every Thursday night."

Draco raised an eyebrow, and Selene was struck with just how similar her father and her brother were. "Well, I must say I am not terribly surprised to see you hanging around with riff-raff like _Longbottom_," Neville tried to become a chameleon. "But I was just looking for you Selene. I need to talk to you, and I haven't seen you apart from Chang or any of your other 'friends' for the whole week." He drawled, ignoring Neville.

Selene blinked, then nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow Neville." She smiled, passing him the book. "You're doing really well in Potions, and Transfiguration only needs another push."

"Thanks." Neville said quietly, talking the book gratefully and hurrying away as fast as he could.

"Can we walk and talk?" Draco asked Selene, sounding a lot more like his normal self now he was away from anyone that cared that he seemed to perpetually be a git.

"Of course." Selene cleared the writing supplies away with a sweep of her wand and shouldered her bag. "What's the matter Draco?"

Draco didn't say anything until they were out in the darkened corridor. "I received a letter from Father." He explained, after casting a preliminary check over their nearby surroundings for any eavesdroppers.

"What did he say?" Selene asked quickly and quietly.

Her thoughts swirled in her mind. Had he told her brother exactly why she had to go home for Christmas? Had her father decided to understand yet?

She had two choices, go home and give up everything and everyone, whist saving Draco; or go to The Burrow and condemn her own brother.

"It doesn't matter." Draco dismissed. "But I hope you know what you're doing."

Selene blinked, but didn't question her brother's words. "I don't." She admitted quietly. "But I know what I'm fighting for."

They stood there in the middle of the corridor for a while longer, and neither of them spoke. Draco would begin to say things every so often, but then he'd change his mind and snap his mouth shut just as fast.

He was the image of their father, Selene thought, sighing inwardly. They had the same eyes, the same face, the same hair… It was only the shape of their features that gave Draco and her any similarities. Draco even walked the same way as their father, talked in the same derogatory manner.

Selene was just…

_Different_.

And she knew exactly what she was fighting for. She was waging one war with herself and her family, but another would soon follow. As Sirius had predicted so darkly, war was inevitable, no matter how much they tried to hide form it and prevent it.

There was no question of which side Selene was going to be on when then time came.

The curfew bell rang, and Selene looked up from her shoes. "I'll see you soon." She said, a hopeful hint in her voice as she made to walk past her brother.

"I love you 'Lene."

Before Selene could properly tell what she was about to do, she hugged Draco around the middle. He was so thin, he always had been, but he seemed a little more fragile than he had been. But the link, the connection, was still there, and the gesture wasn't as awkward as someone might expect. They were both scared, in different ways.

"I love you too Drake." Selene sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You always seem to be." Draco attempted a feeble joke, but Selene choked on her breath and attempted to squeeze the life out of him.

* * *

When Cho woke Selene up at half past two the next morning, it almost felt like the past year, when Cho was still trying to get Selene and George together.

Almost.

"I need to talk to you." Cho whispered, gesturing to Marietta, who was snoring lightly in the bed next to Selene's. "Please."

Selene blinked, but nodded slowly, pushing the covers off herself and shivering at the cool night air on her bare arms. Outside the moon shone brightly in the sky, and Selene only had to glance at it once to be reminded of Remus and Sirius, holed up in Grimmauld Place. She thought she caught a glimpse of a fox, or another night animal running into the Forbidden Forest through the window.

"Fine." She uttered, grabbing a jumper that was lying on top of a pile of clothes nearby. "Is everything okay?"

She shook her head deftly, an almost undeterminable movement, and pushed open the door that led to the common room, wincing at the loud squeak that punctuated the air. Annette Abercrombie turned over, and Selene stopped dead for a few moments, until it was clear that Annette was still asleep.

The common room was silent, just like the dormitory, but there were still a few remnants of flame in the fireplace. Selene sat on the sofa right in front of the fire, and Cho followed.

"This sounds stupid, but…" Cho started, and trailed off, gazing into the flames of the dwindling fire. "Does Harry, you know, ever talk about Cedric?"

Selene sighed, and tucked her hands into the too-long sleeves of the jumper to keep them warm. "I've never heard him mention the topic." She hazarded gently, staring at the fire as well. "But then again, I don't know Harry an awful lot. He's nice, and I see him as a little brother figure of sorts, but I don't really talk to him much in school."

Cho's tears sparkled in the flickering light as she shrugged, sighing as well. "You're… really lucky, you know that?" She continued, moving her eyes from the fire to the window.

"I know I am." Selene admitted, flicking her eyes to the side momentarily. "Do you know what you want to do after school?"

Her attempted change of topic flopped miserably, as Cho choked out a sob and buried her head in her hands. "I have to re-take the year." She admitted quietly. "I've been so behind on all my subjects, the only option is to re-take. I'm allowed to stay in seventh-year subjects, but…"

Selene was silent. "You're not leaving this year then." She ascertained gingerly. "You have to stay next year too."

"It's not my fault!" Cho sobbed suddenly, taking Selene by surprise. "I've just been so upset about Cedric and… And Fred's so open and easy with you and I know I shouldn't be envious but I am and it hurts…" She choked on her words. "I know there's too much you're not telling me," She continued, quietly. "Too much. But I know that you haven't told Johnson or Spinnett or Bell, or even Tonks. So, I'm not worried. But I wish you could trust me Selene, I wish you could trust me like you do Fred."

"I do trust you Cho." Selene insisted. "I do. There are things… things I don't tell anyone. I have promised myself that one day, one day soon, I am going to sit with Fred and tell him everything. And that's only because he deserves to know Cho."

They were both silent for a while longer. Selene hugged her arms more tightly around herself, imagining a picture of some nameless flower in the flames. A little trick from her childhood, to keep her focused.

"I need some air." Selene stood up, shaking her head at the flames. "I won't be long Cho."

"Bye." Cho echoed sadly, gazing into the embers herself.

The portraits were all asleep as Selene passed them, keeping to the shadows. She was breaking a million and one school rules by doing this, but Fred and George had told her enough that she wouldn't get caught. Keep to the darkness. Don't make a noise. Mrs Norris, hide. Filch, run. Any other Professor, duck into nearest classroom. Peeves, try and strike a bargain, or threaten him with the Bloody Baron.

In other, much shorter words, keep out of the way.

She sighed quietly and tugged the bottom of the jumper down slightly. It was a little large on her, but did the job of keeping the cold out. If Umbridge were patrolling these corridors, Selene would be toast before you could say 'Marshmallow'.

But everything seemed okay to her. The corridors were silent, apart from the snoring of the figures in the paintings, and the distant howl of the wind outside the castle.

There was no sign of anyone.

"I'm sorry I can't tell you Cho." Selene whispered, experimenting with different ways of stating the obvious. "It's just… I'm sorry I can't tell you, but my boyfriend hates you and I don't…"

Selene blinked, stopped herself from even going down that road and brushed her palm along the wall.

Instead of the expected texture of coarse stone beneath her palm, Selene felt the solid grains of wood, then a hint of freezing metal. She mentally cursed herself, she had no way of knowing where she was – he had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she had neglected to keep tabs on her location or destination.

But Selene pushed the door open all the same, exhaling when it didn't squeak or groan. There was a dim light, not candlelight because it didn't flicker, but something with around the same light level. All the desks were pushed to one side, some piled up on top of one another, and the chairs were stacked neatly in the far right corner.

When Selene stepped inside, the door swung shut behind her, but it only closed with a soft click rather than an audible thump. But all the same, she wrapped her arms around herself again and placed a hand over her mouth to stifle her breathing. Just in case someone was in here.

She didn't expect to see a large mirror against the opposite wall to the piles of desks when she turned around. It was large, gold and ornate, nothing more. It was simply unremarkable to her. There was an inscription emblazoned along the top frame:

_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._

Raising an eyebrow, Selene moved to take a closer look, to run her fingers along the words in a vain hope that they would translate, but then she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Father?"

In the mirror, on what seemed the other side of the glass, was Lucius Malfoy, smiling widely in a way that he had never done in his entire life. He reached out his hand and placed it on her shoulder, and nodded down at her.

Like he was _proud_.

Her mother came into the frame next, and she hugged Mirror-Selene with more love and warmth than she had ever done. Draco was tagging along behind her, looking much older and still in Slytherin colours of green and silver, but surrounded by friends like Blaise Zabini and Astoria Greengrass, people that genuinely liked him. He rolled his eyes, which made Narcissa laugh, before she turned to hug him too.

Selene looked behind her, as if the spectacle might be truly happening, but she was still alone.

When she turned back to the mirror, her image looked to have aged a few years, only a few. She might have been nineteen. Her Aunt Dromeda walked into the picture, looking just like her photographs detailed, alongside her Uncle Ted, who beamed down at Mirror-Selene and hugged firstly Mirror-Narcissa, then MirrorDraco. Dora, her hair spiky and blue, and a grinning Lily, who punched Mirror-Draco before accepting Mirror-Narcissa's hug.

"This…" Selene stuttered, looking from the ground to the top of the frame. "The Mirror of Erised?"

Sirius, looking like he had never been in Azkaban, hand in hand with a pretty blonde woman who sparked a memory in the back of Selene's mind. A watery-eyed man that Selene recognised as Peter Pettigrew, his arms bare with no Dark Mark. Strangely, Lily and James Potter with Harry too. Remus, who walked straight over to Mirror-Dora and slipped his hand into hers. His face was free of scars, and he looked so carefree that Selene placed a hand over her mouth.

"Uncle Reggy?" Selene swallowed, as a man a few years younger than Sirius smiled and picked up Mirror-Selene like she was three again and spun them around, both of them laughing and smiling. Selene felt tears prick at her eyes.

Mirror-Selene held up her left hand shyly, revealing a plain ring on her ring finger. She smiled at Real-Selene sweetly, and placed one hand on her stomach. Mirror-Sirius mimed vomiting behind Remus, and the blonde woman, Mirror-Remus, Mirror-Regulus, Mirror-Andromeda and Mirror-Narcissa smacked him upside the head, which sent Mirror-Dora into unheard hysterics.

Fred walked in now, looking around the same age as Mirror-Selene and Mirror-Lucius whacked him on the back sharply, sending him careering forwards a few inches. Mirror-Fred also held up his left hand, and then slipped his arm around Mirror-Selene's waist. Mirror-Narcissa was crying now, wiping her eyes.

They walked into the picture one after the other, all looking older. George and Angelina, who had a prominent baby bump, Oliver in his Puddlemere United robes (Mirror-Astoria seemed to ask him for his autograph) with Katie. Alicia, Lee, Cho with a fully alive Cedric…

Selene turned away, closing her eyes and letting the first few tears trickle. When she opened them, two more people were waving back at her.

She spun away again, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. "I see you've found the Mirror."

Selene's head jerked up, and she relaxed when she saw who it was. "It's the Mirror of Erised, right?" She asked, sighing and biting her lip.

"You are correct Miss Malfoy." Professor Dumbledore nodded. "May I ask what you see in the mirror? Yours is not one I can guess, you see."

Selene blinked, but nodded. "I…" She thought of a way to put it. "I see everyone. My parents are proud of me, my brother is with the friends that care about and like him, Sirius hasn't been accused of anything and he's free, Remus isn't a werewolf and he's…" Selene looked up, feeling like she was about to betray some deep, dark secret by telling her Headmaster this. "He's with Dora. Aunt Dromeda and Uncle Ted are accepted by my family, Lily and James are alive…"

"And I would hazard, so are your godfather and the Prewett twins." Professor Dumbledore completed for her, nodding sagely. "And you would also see yourself with Mr Weasley, having a future with him where Voldemort never existed."

She blushed, and nodded again, dropping her eyes. It seemed so shallow now, her greatest wish being that Voldemort had never existed and that everyone she cared about was alive and well, that her parents cared for her and liked Fred. Others must dream about becoming a great wizard or witch, but all Selene wanted was for acceptance and life.

"I know what you are thinking right now Miss Malfoy." Professor Dumbledore continued, and Selene's eyes snapped up. "That to dream of peace is stupid and unfulfilling. But you see others, not just yourself and Mr Weasley, because you wish it for everyone, not just yourself. That takes an admirable amount of confidence and caring Miss Malfoy. You should be proud of yourself."

Professor Dumbledore regarded Selene for a moment longer, before elaborating. "I would be most pleased if you could come to see me in my office Miss Malfoy." He nodded again. "You'll be supporting Gryffindor tomorrow, I expect?" He didn't wait for a response. "It should be an interesting match. Now, I must ask you not to go looking for this mirror again."

"It does better to dwell on the present than the past." Selene sighed.

"Quite so." Professor Dumbledore smiled, his eyes sparkling. "Remember that, Miss Malfoy. I still like Acid Pops, you know."

* * *

When Selene walked into the Great Hall the next morning and sat down with the Ravenclaws, namely with Luna – who was wearing a lion head- a few seats along from Cho, she didn't really expect to find half the Gryffindor Quidditch team sitting around her as well.

"Well, hello." George greeted, leaning across Selene to snag some of her toast. "And how are you this fine morning?"

"Oh, I'm fine." Selene snapped her book shut and smiled around at the group. "You all ready?"

"As we'll ever be." Angelina sighed, gesturing to where Ron was being consoled by Harry and Hermione back over at the Gryffindor table. "Ron's about to be sick, I think. We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed."

"Don't be too hard on him." Selene insisted, directing this comment at Fred, who was currently stuffing his face with bacon opposite her.

Fred looked up and scowled as best as he could. "Whatf you talkingf abot?" He muffled.

"Finish eating before talking." Selene said dismissively.

George cracked up, as Alicia began to rifle through her bag for her black notebook. "Oh, look at you!" He pinched one of Selene's cheeks. "All grown up and ready to become a Weasley matriarch!"

Fred began to choke on his bacon, and Selene's eyes widened, blushing deeply. Angelina managed a smile that more resembled a grimace, but Katie giggled and Alicia scribbled something in her notebook. "Not yet." Fred muttered, after he had swallowed.

"What do you mean?" Selene asked curiously, looking from one twin to the other. George just smiled innocently at her, and Fred didn't meet her gaze. "What's happening?"

Angelina took this opportunity to stand up and address the Quidditch Team. "Team, outside." She barked.

"Good luck." Selene echoed, standing up to hug George. Fred pecked her on the cheek, still not looking at her.

"Support Gryffindor." Angelina said grimly, looking over to the Slytherin table. Selene noticed that her brother was holding out crown-shaped pin badges, and all of them seemed very smug about something. "We need all the support we can get."

Selene nodded, numbly, sitting back down next to Luna and watching Draco's progress around the Slytherins. "Your head is full of Nargles." Luna said dreamily. "You're very distracted, aren't you?"

"I guess I am." Selene shrugged, sighing. "We'd better get going if we want to get decent seats."

"Oh, hello Selene, Luna!" Hermione greeted them, as they reached the Entrance Hall. "You going down now too?"

Selene nodded, brushing her hair off her face. "Is Ron okay?" She asked, as they began to walk again.

Hermione winced, and made a funny gesture between a nod and a shake of her head. "I… hope so." She eventually decided upon saying. "I just hope Harry gets the Snitch sooner rather than later."

* * *

The game was full on, and Selene could feel Hermione's nails digging into the back of her hand at intervals. Angelina, Alicia and Katie mostly seemed to be focusing on scoring and keeping the Quaffle away from the Slytherin players, while Ron missed every throw.

But that wasn't what really made the game unlike one Selene had ever seen.

"_Weasley cannot save a thing, he cannot block a single ring, that's why Slytherins all sing, Weasley is our King."_

Selene was torn between throwing something directly at her brother and berating herself for not realising what he was planning earlier. Ron seemed to be going greener with every single verse, and the Slytherins just sang louder.

"Oh no…" Hermione moaned, as the score flipped past 60-30 to Slytherin. "Harry'd better hurry up now, or they're going to win…"

"It'll be fine Hermione." Selene reassured, biting her lip as she searched for Fred among the swirls of red and green. Luna's hat gave out a tremendous roar, and Selene jumped.

Finally Selene spotted him, and bit back a smile as Fred whacked a Bludger directly at Draco, who barely avoided it. "AND THAT, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN," Lee yelled, moving the gramophone out of Professor McGonagall's reach. "IS WHY YOU DON'T MESS WITH A BEATER'S GIRLFRIEND!"

"JORDAN, I'M WARNING YOU!" Professor McGonagall shouted, and Lee continued to hold the megaphone out of her reach.

Fred caught Selene's eyes on him and he winked at her. Selene managed a weak smile in return, slightly worried both for his team and what he was so obviously planning.

"AND POTTER'S GOT THE SNITCH!" Lee was yelling, and the vice-like grip that Hermione had inflicted on Selene's hand lifted and the crowd was roaring. Hermione and Selene hugged each other in relief, as Luna's lion head gave out another roar. Selene laughed, and turned to hug Luna too, who returned it without a moment's hesitation. "FINAL SCORE GRYFFINDOR 190-60!"

"Wooh! Go Ron!" Selene called, as the Keeper in question touched down on the ground. She made her way through the crowds, pursued by Hermione, making it to the pitch just as the Slytherin team made it to the ground.

Selene felt herself being picked up and whirled around by Fred, and she let out a little laugh as she stumbled into him. He winked at her, before nodding up at Lee.

"WATCH THIS!" Lee unexpectedly yelled, making the Slytherin's rise from whatever stupor they were previously in.

"Hey, wait, what are-" Angelina began, but she was cut off by a series of loud bangs and whizzes. Selene froze, and raised her eyes to the sky, along with the rest of the school.

She was caught between yelling and laughing. So she just stood there, Fred's arms around her, staring up at the words emblazoned in the sky. Selene swallowed, and went a shade of purple that should have been impossible. "Well, you did say that I should bottle it up a bit love." Fred grinned, as Selene looked back at him. "So, what do you think? Worthy of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?"

"I…" Selene was lost for words. "I…"

Everyone was staring at them, even the Professors. Selene could have sworn that Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and that Professor McGonagall might have smiled. She swallowed again, and blinked owlishly at Fred, who was still grinning broader than the Cheshire cat.

I, FREDERICK GIDEON WEASLEY, AM IN LOVE WITH SELENE NARCISSA MALFOY

"They're a new brand of fireworks." Fred mused. "Makes asking people out and proposals a whole lot easier. George came up with the idea, but we only perfected them last night. Good timing, it turns out."

Selene exhaled, and wished on everything she had that everyone would stop staring at her. "Very good timing." She murmured, as Fred bit his lip. Slowly, blocking out the wolf-whistles and catcalling around them, she kissed him. Then she pulled away, and blushed. "And I think it's good enough."

"Well, that's nice." Draco sneered, turning the attention from Selene to him in an instant. "Like the song Weasley? We wanted to write another couple of verses. But we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly — we wanted to sing about his mother, see…"

"You shut up about my mother Malfoy!" Ron seethed, but he was held back by Hermione. Fred glared right at her brother, but Selene held him back. "He's not worth it." She said quietly, as Angelina repeated similar sentiments to Ron and Harry.

"We couldn't fit in useless loser either — for his father, you know…" Draco smirked, sneering at Selene. "Maybe we should have had an extra verse, just about the freaks he has for siblings."

Selene clenched her fists, but kept on holding Fred back. Alicia came over to help hold him back too, as he was going red with anger.

"But you like the Weasleys, don't you, Potter? Spend holidays there and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink, but I suppose when you've been dragged up by Muggles, even the Weasley's hovel smells okay…"

"Be quiet Draco." Selene warned, as Katie and Angelina pulled George away.

"Oh, and look, my 'sister' is telling me to be quiet. She seems to like the Weasel." Draco sneered again, and the Slytherin team snickered around him. "Or perhaps, you can remember what your mother's house stank like, Potter, and Weasley's pigsty reminds you of it-"

It took all of Selene's power to keep Fred from charging at Draco, but the others weren't as lucky. Before they could say anything, George and Harry were on him, punching and kicking any part of his anatomy that he could reach. Hermione and Angelina surged forward to forcibly pull the pair off Draco, who was cowering on the ground whimpering. Fred looked to be in shock, staring at his twin and Harry, who were being dragged towards the castle by an irate Professor McGonagall.

Selene slowly let go of him; as soon as she could be certain that he wouldn't be stupid. "Let's get you back to the castle." She soothed, slipping her hand into his. Fred nodded dumbly, but he bit his lip again.

Draco whimpered pathetically as Selene passed by, and she almost broke down right there and cried too. But she stopped, gathering what little courage she had and helped him up. "Come on." She murmured. "I'll take him to the Hospital Wing Professor Snape."

Snape nodded, not looking at Selene. He swept past the three of them in a flurry of robes, and stalked towards the castle in an almost predatory fashion. Fred looked at Draco, hanging onto Selene's arm, and looked back at his girlfriend, snapping his mouth shut when he saw how worried she looked.

As they walked towards the castle, all silent, the faintest glimmer of the words that had shone in the sky remained.

**Well.**

**Wanted to do that. Thanks to hidoineko who prompted me to make Fred make Selene blush again. Hope you liked it – but it needed to end on a slightly somber note. Sorry about the lack of detail, I lost my OotP book recently and was working through Wikipedia.**

**QUESTION TIME!**

**The souless ones asked Lily: Why am I such an idiot?**

**Lily: No idea. Sorry. I don't know you; you'd be better off asking someone who does.**

**The souless ones asked Draco: If Lily weren't your relative would you date her?**

**Draco: No. What is up with Lily, by the way? She should be a Slytherin.**

**The souless ones asked Ron: Would you read through 50 chapters?**

**Ron: What? Definitely not. That's Hermione, not me. I barely make it through one!**

**The souless ones asked Tonks: If you could say one thing to Lily, what would you say?**

**Tonks: Never get drunk when you're with a Weasley. Long story, by the way. Damn they can hold their alcohol!**

**The souless ones asked me (Eleanor): Is Lily as mad as she appears to be?**

**Me (Eleanor): Ha. Maybe, maybe not. I'll leave you to chew on that. But it can't be easy having a Meta sister, that's a clue. Might take a while for the truth to come out though.**

**Well, tried to shorten it a bit. Let me know what you thought, and please review! 5 or more? Please?**

**Eleanor xxx**


	49. Chapter 48: The Story Of Cedrella

**Wow! Hello! I'm still alive! And an amazing amount of reviews too! Thank you, everyone is amazing.**

**Thank you to The souless ones: Ha, good idea, but I'm sticking to my guns. **

**Daizychains123: Aw, thanks! Awesome question too, I think that's my favourite so far.**

**Bassetboy244 – Oh, I'm glad you like it so much! Even my unnamed readers have a special place in my heart. I'm happy too XD**

**Gurl5678, ha, I'm sorry, I would have been more specific if I knew. Fred says thank you, and that you're going to have to wait for more fireworks, but their 1 galleon for a pack of three. Bargain!**

**HT118: Thanks. Yes, they will still get a life ban; I just don't go into detail about it. More important things to worry about!**

**Guest – yeah, he was. In that chapter anyway. After all, that is Selene's greatest desire. It's slightly depressing… **

**To Dalonega Noquisi, well, I think Fred's a little bit more understanding than that now, but that doesn't come up in this chapter. Sorry about the ending though, I hope this ending's a little more fun. The mirror made me cry. A lot. While I was drinking tea. Didn't help much. **

**And MysteriousMindBlockedHeart, thanks for the questions!**

**On with the chapter! I dedicate this one to my friend Viv, aka The souless ones, who would kill me with a pen (long story) if I didn't do this. Please review again, I love waking up in the morning to see loads of reviews waiting!**

* * *

"Come over to the window my little darling, I'd like to try and read your palm." - So Long Marianne by Leonard Cohen

* * *

Chapter 48: The Story Of Cedrella

Lily was, by nature, not a very curious person.

Two people gossiping? Flourish a knife at them. So on and so forth, gradually getting more and more weird and more and more slightly disturbing the further you looked.

And she only divulged in gossip for Alicia, and they had a deal going. Lily got the news, Alicia gave Lily blackmail material. That had the perchance to come in very useful at times.

But there was one definite exception to this rule.

"…Fred, I'm sorry, but I'm still worried."

Lily's interest piqued at this sudden speech, which came from just around the corner. That was her lovely cousin Selene Narcissa, who would shortly be meeting Lily's parents.

Oh, that was going to be fun. Selene had even got the weekend off from school. Lily grinned evilly, and slipped her hand into her pocket and handled the flick knife that Dora had given her, quite unexpectedly, at the beginning of last summer, saying it was from 'an admirer'.

And that was only one thing in the long list of mysteries. Where had Dora been for the majority of the summer? Why wasn't Lily receiving many letters from her sister this year? And why oh why were her parents being so secretive?

Surely they couldn't be displeased with Lily. She had received a good number of OWLs, passing DADA, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms and Astronomy. Six, that wasn't quite as many as Dora got, but it was twice as much as the Weasley twins.

Maybe Mum had gotten wind of how Lily had almost murdered Trelawney…

"It's fine to be worried love." Fred answered her lovely cousin, and Lily smirked. Ever since the match, there had been lots of rumours circulating the relationship. They were all false, as Selene would tell her if they were married or engaged, and Mrs Weasley would kill Fred if Selene were pregnant. They were also not cheating on each other or planning to adopt a pig farm in Shropshire.

Lily had no idea how the last one had cropped up; Selene had an intense phobia of just about any animal.

"Well, things are happening…" Selene sighed, and Lily smiled manically, a little detail coming back to her.

Umbitch had banned Harry, Gred and Forge from Quidditch for life, so there was an empty slot with her name on it in the team. She could hit people _really _well, and had an ego the size of Hogsmede, so she'd fit in just fine where Fred and George had popped off for jam and scones.

"And now Professor Dumbledore told me what's happening to me." Selene continued.

Lily raised her eyebrows. Why was Selene - the picture-perfect Head Girl -talking to Professor Dumbledore? She most definitely wasn't getting demoted; Selene had taken five points off George only yesterday for 'reckless running'.

"So, you know why you've been so ill lately." Fred said, in a no-nonsense tone, and he sounded so like his mother that Lily had to bite back a chuckle. "Don't lie to me Selene, it's not just overwork."

Well, Selene had been doing nothing if not overworking. She was tutoring Colin Creevey in Charms, Neville in everything just about, then she had extra work from Flitwick for her job-thing and then homework AND THEN revision! No wonder she had been 'ill'. Lily would have contracted double pneumonia, spattergroit, dragon pox and the flu if she were in Selene' s position.

"I'm sorry Fred." Selene sighed again. "But I only just found out, and I came straight to let you know."

Lily flinched. They were probably going to start snogging soon. Did she have her dad's old camera? Maybe she could show him just how to blackmail her cousin and her probably soon-to-be cousin in-law. "I knew you loved me." Fred returned, and Lily breathed a silent sigh of relief. No snogging, thank god. She was young and innocent; she shouldn't have to know… _things_ like that.

"Does the Order know?" Fred added.

The Order? Lily swallowed. Why would they be talking about the Order? The Order of the Phoenix had been disbanded after Voldemort disappeared the first time. Her parents had told her so, right after they had enlightened Lily and Dora with tales of blood, guts and gore (not really, but Lily had weaselled the grisly details out of her Dad afterwards). In effect, there was no Order.

"Yes." Selene answered, and Lily edged towards the corner of the wall. "Dora contacted me yesterday, and Kingsley's helping me out. I've officially got PTSD on the forms."

Selene had been in contact with her sister when Lily hadn't? Lily's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. She might not be a Ravenclaw, but she was smart. Something was fishy. It smelled like tuna – no, kippers. Lily liked kippers.

PTSD… that was a Muggle disease. Lily remembered it from Muggle Studies. But why would Selene be having that 'on the forms'?

"And the normal medication people take for PTS-whatsit helps with the sickness and the dizziness?" Right, now Lily was confused in the extreme. What was wrong? Actually, better question. What the absolute fricking hell was going on? Why the hell were Selene and Fred conversing in the middle of a corridor at all for Agrippa's sake? Obviously the little comment about the Order was more important than Lily originally thought. Or maybe it was the PTS-thingy front thing… She wasn't sure.

"Thankfully, yes. I bet Sirius was yelling at Dumbledore." Selene said, and Lily furrowed her brow. Now they were talking about Sirius. Sirius Black, the still-not-apprehended murderer who also happened to be related to her. The same man that had basically killed the Potters. Selene was close to Harry, closer than either of them liked to admit. Lily had no idea what had happened between them over the holidays, but it had affected everything between them. Harry now actively searched Selene out for advice, and Selene had become a lot more confident in expressing her opinions out loud.

So why would Selene, Harry's source of help and sibling-type figure, and Fred, the older brother of Harry's best friend, be talking about the man that killed James and Lily Potter like they both knew and liked him?

"Poor guy, being shut up in his house like that."

Yep, and friendly with him to boot. Lily peered around the corner, and caught a glimpse of the pair, talking at the other end of the corridor. Selene was looking tired, but not quite as tired as she had before. And – Lily had to do a double-take here – Fred looked concerned. Then Selene looked up, and Lily ducked back around the corner, praying silently to someone – she wasn't sure who – that they hadn't noticed.

"I think I heard someone." Selene whispered, and Lily swore colourfully under her breath. Apparently they had seen something. "Hello?" She asked, in a louder voice. "Is anyone there?"

Lily scoffed; Selene could be so stupid sometimes. Generally if you hear someone someone's there. Unless you're mad, but Lily wasn't going to think about that right now. Madness was fascinating, but she was pretty sure she was still sane. Then a sudden idea struck her, and she grinned. "It's just me!" She said, in a high-pitched voice that she hoped sounded like Professor Umbridge. "May I ask what you two delinquents are doing out of bed?"

"Um… whoever that is, that is a rubbish impression." Fred said – Lily could hear him smirking from where she was standing. "Come on, I bet you can do better."

"Well, that's not what I heard Weasley." Lily managed a smile as she stepped out from the shadows, but inside her inner demon was telling her to go out all-guns blazing, yelling at them to reveal all and leave no prisoners. "What's this I hear about the Order, faking PTSD and my killer cousin Sirius Black?"

"You heard all of that?" Selene said urgently, looking around worriedly. "Did anyone else hear anything?"

Lily scoffed again. "Nah, I'm not that stupid Sellie." She smiled, but her voice was cold. "Give me some credit here. What the hell is going on?"

"Lily, for the love of god, please don't go repeating anything that we just talked about." Selene pleaded, biting her lip. "And I'm not really the person to ask about that, Aunt Dromeda asked me-"

"Oh, so now you listen to my mother, do you?" Lily laughed scathingly. "Let me guess, I'm too bloody young, aren't I? I can bet on my favourite fake ninja sword that Ginny's somehow involved as well, and she's two years younger than me! I'll be of age in December, so you'd better shut the fuck up now and tell me everything, omitting nothing!"

Selene and Fred shared a look, and then Selene sighed. "Lily, I can't." She apologised quietly. "Your parents asked me not to tell you especially, and I know they said the same thing to Dora as well. So please, calm down."

Lily scowled, fingering the flick knife in her pocket again. "This isn't over." She muttered, before turning around and walking into a wall.

* * *

Selene was standing somewhere that she thought she'd never get to see. Number 67, Robinson's Drive in Worcester.

The house was modern in design, and was probably thoroughly Muggle judging by the lack of magical plants in the front garden and the simple fact that it looked so normal.

No one could guess that Andromeda Tonks, nee Black, and her thoroughly strange and magical family lived here.

"Here we are." Lily said curtly, and completely ignored Selene as they started up the gravel path. Selene sighed inwardly, but kept her exterior appearance up of quite interest.

Someone looked out of the front window, and seconds later the front door opened. A rather portly man, with a large smile and a kind face stepped outside, and Lily's scowl flickered into an amiable grin. "Lily-flower!" He grinned, and embraced his daughter in a strong hug. Then he pulled away, and looked at his niece with twinkling green eyes. "And my niece, I take it? Heard a lot about you from Lily and Dora." His jovial voice grew slightly sterner. "I hope that boyfriend of yours is treating you right."

"It's nice to meet you Uncle Ted." Selene managed a little smile at this stranger, noting similarities between him and Lily with every passing second. They both shared their green eyes and short frames, but Ted was still a few inches taller than his daughter. They also had the same grin, the one that only appeared on Lily when she was really happy or very excited. "Lily and Dora have told me a lot about you too."

Ted grinned widely, and hugged Selene too. "Your mother's in the kitchen." He spoke to Lily, who just put her hands on her hips. "What's wrong Lily-flower?"

"When did the Order come back?" Lily stated calmly, staring straight at her father.

Ted stared at his daughter for a few seconds, before shaking his head. "Knew it was stupid to try and keep you safe." He joked, but Lily shook her head at him.

"Dad, shut up and tell me." She demanded, her hands still on her hips. "No, Selene didn't tell me, I eavesdropped on a conversation between Selene and Fred. Don't tell me you know Sirius Black too?"

"Come on in Selene." Ted said, ignoring his daughter for the moment. "ANDROMEDA! THEY'RE HERE!"

A woman that looked so much like Bellatrix that Selene swallowed, walked into the hall that Selene was standing in. But as she neared, Selene noticed differences between her two aunts. Andromeda's face was softer, with laughter-lines scattered over it. And Selene thought she was looking into a picture of herself, but much older.

They had almost the exact same hair colour, but Selene's was slightly darker. Her aunt's smile echoed herself too, and despite the fact that Andromeda had dark brown eyes, her eyes echoed of Selene as well. They had the same face shape, they were both tall, and they had both inherited the classic Black family face in other words. "Oh, my lovely girl." She smiled again, and Selene could see that her eyes were sparkling with tears as she swept Selene up into a hug almost matching Ted's for strength, but equalling it in unspoken feelings. "You look so much like your mother."

"It's nice to meet you Aunt Dromeda." Selene said, as they pulled away from each other. "Um… thank you for your letter, it helped a lot."

"You don't need to thank me." Andromeda smiled again, brushing the tears away from her face – the same defence mechanism as Selene had once had, so very long ago. "You're a beautiful girl, aren't you? That Fred Weasley of yours is very lucky."

Selene felt the full extent to the meaning behind the words, and she swallowed down her own tears. "I feel more like I'm lucky." She admitted, looking around at the photos on the mantelpiece. They were all Wizarding, ones of Dora and Lily, Andromeda and Ted, a picture of Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa as well. Even a few of the original Order members, and Selene recognised the Prewett twins with a sudden jolt.

"We all feel like that Selene." Andromeda sighed herself, and looked over to the picture that Selene was gazing at. "I assume Liliana's found about the Order?"

"I'm sorry, she was listening in and-" Selene began, but Andromeda shook her head quickly.

"I know it isn't Selene." She said calmly. "Lily likes to think of herself as inquisitive, but in fact she is incredibly curious."

Selene looked up from the photo of the three Black sisters, and saw the faintest tremor of fear in her aunt's eyes.

* * *

It had taken a while, but Lily was finally calm. She had been pacified with a Muggle drink Selene had never tasted before called 'Vimto', which tasted like all different types of fruit at the same time, and was somehow fizzy as well.

Now Lily, Aunty Andy (Andromeda thought this name sounded cooler, and less like a Great Aunt), Uncle Ted and Selene were seated around the extensive dining room table in their conservatory, along with Dora, Remus and Mrs Weasley.

Lily had just about died when she saw Professor Lupin walk through the front door, and had yelled at him for close to half an hour about him both being a werewolf and not telling her, and then about knowing Sirius Black. When she had shut up and had been told that as he was no longer her Professor, she could call him Remus, she had hugged the werewolf around the middle, making him blush furiously.

Mrs Weasley had come straight from meeting Fleur (who's relationship with Bill was quickly escalating), and had looked rather grim when she strode in. But that point hadn't come up yet, and Selene could tell that she was going to get a thorough grilling about Fleur Delacour the second Mrs Weasley could get a few words to her.

Dora on the other hand, her hair spiky and blue for the occasion, had shouted her mother's protests down about Lily being too young, and had raised the excellent question of why Lily couldn't be included but Selene could. Andromeda had come up with something about age, but then Lily had screamed that she was 17 in a few weeks and that Selene was only six months older than her, if you were going to be technical about it.

So, after a bit more yelling and shouting, the group had explained everything that Lily had not been privy to in the last three years, from Sirius's innocence to the Order of the Phoenix. And when they had, Lily had calmed down considerably.

"Oh." She said, after Remus had finished explaining about why no, Lily could not be in the Order at this current space in time. "Well, I'm joining as soon as I'm out of school then."

"No, you're-" Andromeda begun, but Ted shot her a pacifying look.

"Come on, who would like a cup of tea?" Mrs Weasley cut in, standing up. "I'll make it, ah, Selene, could I have some help please?"

Selene nodded, standing up too. "Of course Mrs Weasley." She smiled at Lily, who smiled back over her Vimto. Knowing Lily that was as close to an apology as Selene was going to get.

When Mrs Weasley and Selene entered the kitchen, Mrs Weasley shut the door behind them, and began to rootle for the teabags. "So, Fleur then." She begun, and Selene sighed inaudibly. "You've been friends with her for a long time, I take it?"

Selene nodded, and filled the kettle with water, mentally going through instructions that Dora had once given her on proper use of kettles. "Seven years now." She smiled out at the garden, which was a lot wizardier than the front garden. "It seems like longer, to be honest."

Mrs Weasley nodded briskly, and put a teabag in each of the mugs. "So… is she a nice girl though?"

"Yes, she is, but sometimes she can be a little off-putting." Selene admitted. Her eyes flickered over to Mrs Weasley, who was regarding Selene intently. "She better than she seems, I promise."

"Of course dear." Mrs Weasley smiled warmly, her eyes betraying her relief. "Bill seems awfully taken with her, and you've never been wrong before."

Selene blushed, and looked at the floor. Somehow compliments still made her flush, no matter how much she tried to stop that happening. But it was still the firework in the sky that lingered in her mind most prominently.

"And… well, I've heard Fred and you have recently took a big step in your relationship." Mrs Weasley continued, and Selene choked at what she was so obviously trying to insinuate. "Ginny wrote to me about the firework idea, sometimes that boy confuses me."

Selene didn't think that her red face was doing her any favours, but she shook her head fervently. "Er, no, sorry…" She trailed off, looking down at her shoes again. "N-Not… yet?" She tried, knowing how stupid that must sound.

"Good." Mrs Weasley said firmly, and Selene looked up again. "Heaven knows I get enough trouble from Bill and Charlie as it is, without the twins as well. I know I can't stop you though, as it is… er… a mutual…"

The last thing Selene wanted now was for someone to walk in, and true to form Dora decided to step in at that precise moment. The door opened, and Dora came in, holding Lily's empty Vimto glass that had apparently come from a place called Disneyland. She looked from Mrs Weasley, who was busying herself with the tea, to Selene, who was bright red and not meeting Dora's eyes. Then Dora smirked, and walked straight over to Selene, walking into the fridge as she did. "You alright Sellie?" She grinned, elbowing her. "You mind if I take Selene for a bit Molly?"

"Oh, no, not at all." Mrs Weasley was still pottering over the mugs and the kettle. "The tea will only be a few more minutes."

Dora dragged Selene out into the hall again, and began to laugh once the door had swung shut behind them. "Oh, you should see your face!" She laughed. "Let me guess, she had the talk with you!"

"Yes, okay, she did." Selene admitted, running her hand through her hair. "It doesn't matter, okay?"

"Of course it doesn't." Dora replied nonchalantly. "The talk you have with Sirius will though."

The look that Selene gave Dora could have fired lasers, if that were possible, but it just made Dora laugh harder.

* * *

"Oh, look at these!" Andromeda produced a worn photo album from the depths of a box that had been hidden right at the back of a cupboard in the kitchen.

Lily took one look at the album and groaned, turning the volume up on the television, which Selene had been entranced with for quite a while. "NO Mum…" She groaned, burying her head in a cushion. "You can't do this to us!"

"Can't do what to who?" Dora yawned, tugging on her coat and walking into the fish tank. "Oh, sorry Herman and Hermione."

"Herman and Hermione?" Selene queried, looking at the two identical goldfish in the tank.

"Yeah." Dora grinned. "They look so similar to one another-" Lily coughed 'no kidding' under her breath. "-And Mum wouldn't let us call them Fred and George."

"And for a very good reason too!" Andromeda sighed and rolled her eyes. "I remember when those two were just toddlers, oh, the trouble they'd cause. If you left them along for a second, when you'd look back at them they'd have gotten hold of Arthurs' wand and be turning gnomes into pigs!"

"Kaboom?" Selene suggested, and Andromeda nodded nostalgically.

"They got that nickname after they blew up the chicken coop, two weeks after they said their first words." She smiled. "I suppose Fred told you about that old name? Imagine he'd be quite proud of his two year-old self."

Selene laughed, nodding. "He acts a bit like a two year-old anyway Aunty Andy." She admitted, and Lily smiled evilly at the cartoon of a cat and a dog that was playing on the television screen.

"As long as he's treating you right." Ted walked in, wrenching the controller for the television out of Lily's hands. "Oi, little Lily, I want to watch some of my Star Wars thank you very much! Enough of this Rhubarb and Custard nonsense!"

"He's treating me fine thank you Uncle Ted." Selene insisted, as her aunt opened the old photo album.

Ted nodded grimly. "Let me know if he doesn't." He said ominously. "I'll give him the old one-two, you know me!"

"Dad, you're about as useful in a fight as a marshmallow mug!" Lily reminded, ducking the swipe that her father sent at her head. "He is though seriously. I think we should plant him in the Death Eaters and watch Podgy here destroy them from the inside."

"I am not podgy!" Ted protested. "I am in shape Lily-flower, as round is a shape!"

"Right, that's enough you two." Andromeda plucked the controller out of her husband's hands. "It's almost seven, and that means it's time to watch you, dear, make a prat of yourself on TV."

Before Selene could open her mouth to ask what a TV was, Lily cut in. "TV is the short name for a television."

Her uncle rubbed his hands together in anticipation and grinned down at Selene. "I'm a weatherman." He explained. "On Muggle TV. Oh, I remember the weather warning I had to give after Harry defeated You-Know-Who for the first time. Dedalus Diggle was setting off fireworks left right and centre. Had to pretend it was just Americans who thought their holiday was in August not July. Don't know how that can happen, I think 4th July's pretty neat."

"You're rambling dear." Andromeda said kindly, changing the channel with a few clicks of the buttons on the controller. "Come over here Selene, I have some marvellous pictures of the Weasleys when Fred and George were little kids."

As if to clarify her point, Andromeda pointed to a picture of two identical toddlers, both completely covered in chocolate, grinning identically at the camera. "Aw, they look so cute!" Lily cooed, as the Fred and George in the picture giggled and high-fived.

"Very different to now." Selene agreed. "But Fred's always been cute."

"No, _that's _cute." Ted amended, pushing his daughter. "You need to get a boyfriend too Lily, then I can have two girls to gush over and two guys to beat up!"

Lily smirked, and shook her head. "Nah, you've got enough in one couple Dad." She reminded him. "Fred's very full-on, isn't he Sellie? Only last weekend, he set off some fireworks that literally spelt out that he was in love with her. Next thing you know they'll be eloping!"

Selene went very red, as her uncle shook his head. He pointed the TV controller at Selene and waggled it a bit. "You are no allowed to marry until you are at least twenty, young lady!" He said sternly. "And no grandchildren until you're twenty-three, do you hear me?"

"You and Mum got married when you were eighteen." Lily cut in.

"Yes, but that was different." Ted protested, but then his face fell. "Um…"

"It's okay, don't worry." Selene insisted. "I'm lucky, and… and it was never going to be easy."

"And it never will be." Andromeda said sadly, closing the photo album and sighing under her breath. "I'm sorry Selene, but what you've done… even if you haven't been officially disowned yet, it will affect everyone in one way or another. I'm sure you've heard about my aunt Cedrella?"

Selene nodded, remembering the shiny burn mark on the Black Family tapestry. "I don't know the story, but I know of her, yes."

Andromeda nodded, placing the photo album on the armrest beside her. "Cedrella had two sisters, Callidora, who married Harfang Longbottom, and Charis, who married Casper Crouch. She was the middle girl, two years separating her and Callidora and another four between Callidora and Charis. Because the two other girls made respectable, pure-blood marriages, they weren't disowned."

"Cedrella was a Slytherin, much like me, but she wasn't like the stereotype of the modern era. I am slightly ashamed to admit that I once believed in blood purity, and I am sure that Cedrella once did too. But in her fifth year, Cedrella was made Prefect, and consequently she met the Gryffindor Septimus Weasley, who is the grandfather of Fred."

"As far as I know, they did not get along well at all to begin with, much like you and Fred, but with animosity on both sides, not just one side and the other party reflecting it back. Professor Dippet, who was Headmaster at the time, apparently had never had that much trouble from anyone except Cedrella and Septimus."

"But eventually, it must have taken them two years to realise so, they fell in love. They were Head Boy and Girl at the time, a controversial decision from Professor Dippet, but a useful one all the same. As Callidora had left at that time, only Charis had an inkling of what was going on between her sister and the Blood Traitor Septimus Weasley, a little like you and Draco Selene."

"Cedrella was to marry her cousin Pollux at the time, but she eloped with Septimus before definite plans could be made. Luckily the Weasley family gladly took Cedrella in, but I understand that Cedrella never saw her family again, until the day she died, which was two years after Voldemort was first defeated."

Andromeda sighed. "I met her a few times after I was disowned, firstly at my wedding, then the wedding of Molly and Arthur that they held after it came out that they eloped, then when the Order of the Phoenix met for the first time, then when Fred and George were born, and a day before she died."

"Was she in the Order too?" Selene asked curiously.

Andromeda shook her head. "No, she was well into her sixties by then, but she was a great supporter of the cause against Voldemort, along with Septimus. Very proud of her sons as well. You would have liked her; right up until she died she had a lovely sense of humour. I think the twins were influenced by her as well as Fabian and Gideon."

Opening the album again, Andromeda flicked through a few pages until she opened it fully at one of the first photographs. "This is her." She explained, pointing to a picture of a woman who looked a bit like Andromeda. She was pretty, but not extravagantly so. She had an arm around a red-haired man that looked a little like Arthur Weasley, and a large smile that was uncommon in most Black family photographs.

"She would like you a lot." Andromeda smiled. "She was a little more outgoing than you though, always spoke her mind and never let anyone beat her. Apart from that you two are remarkably similar."

"So, I'm in at the deep end." Selene stated, looking down at the photo.

"If I think I know Fred as well as I do, I doubt he'll care." Andromeda smiled. "Despite our threats, he seems like a good guy. And Sirius doesn't trust anyone really, and him being protective is just a sign that he sees you as a little sister."

"Ooh, our cousin Sirius-he-isn't-a-Death-Eater-Black doesn't like Fred?" Lily smirked. "That guy gets better and better-sounding all the time!"

**Well hello again!**

**What did you think?**

**QUESTION TIME (penultimate one!)!**

**Daizychains123 asked Selene, Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco: If anything were legal for a day, what would you do?**

**Selene: I'd probably try Firewhiskey. Fred says it's awesome but… wait, I'm already of age. Scrap that idea then.**

**Fred: Ha, do you really have to ask? I'd prank all the Slytherins and all the teachers, then stand around laughing at them for the rest of the day.**

**George: I'd probably give Firewhiskey to Muggles. That's probably illegal, I think. I'll ask Dad…**

**Harry: Well, I'd probably do some magic in front of the Dursley's so they'd leave me alone during the summer. I have always wanted to do that.**

**Ron: I'd kill Umbridge. Enough said.**

**Hermione: Ooh, I'm not sure… I might try shooting a Scottishman wearing a kilt on the beach in Douglas, Isle of Man, that's a pretty old law…**

**Draco: Okay, I'd probably do some under-age drinking. I might be a Slytherin, but I'm not evil.**

**Bassetboy244 asked Lily: What TV show and singer is your biggest guilty pleasure?**

**Lily: Oh, The Simpsons. Easily. And the singer? Maybe a **_**little **_**bit of Warbeck, but not much. DON'T JUDGE ME!**

**Gurl5678 asked Me (Eleanor): Would you like to buy my stepsister?**

**Me (Eleanor): Um… I'm okay with two sisters thanks. She can't be that bad, and I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate being sold over Fanfiction. **

**Gurl5678 asked Andromeda: Does it make you sad that you can't be accepted by people that you love so much?**

**Andromeda: Yes, it does. But I have Ted, and Nymphadora, and Liliana, and Selene and now Sirius from my family, and lots of friends. But sometimes I wish life could be different.**

**Gurl5678 asked Draco: When will you learn to shut your piehole?**

**Draco: *scoffs* I don't know what you mean…**

**MysteriousMindBlockedHeart asked Astoria: What will you do if your parents start pressurising you to become a Death Eater?**

**Astoria: That's pretty unlikely, but if that did happen… then I trust Selene enough, I guess, to go to her for help. But Mum and Dad don't like You-Know-Who's methods any more than I do.**

**MysteriousMindBlockedHeart asked Harry: How would you feel if they made a Chocolate Frog card for you?**

**Harry: Honoured, I guess. I'd be like Dumbledore, and it would be my greatest achievement as well. Much better than defeating Voldemort. **

**MysteriousMIndBlockedHeart: Hermione snogs Dean Thomas what do you do?**

**Ron: Um… *silently clenches fists and scowls* Nothing…**

**Well. THAT WAS THE SECOND TO LAST QUESTION TIME! **

**Yes, next chapter is Chapter 50. Shocker, right?**

**Please review, review, review! Let me know what you'd like to see in chapter 50! Maybe a song? Maybe something else?**

**Anyway,**

**Eleanor xxx**


	50. Chapter 49: Explaining All

**Dum dum dum dum…**

**Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum…**

**DUM DUM DUM DUM!**

**CHAPTER 50! I've made it! THANK YOU EVERYONE! I WOULD WANT THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF REVIEWS TO MARK THIS OCCASION!**

**And now, a word from our characters.**

**Fred: Hello! Yes, hello, it's me! At chapter 50! Quite a feat!**

**Selene: Um… yes. Hello! Selene… um… here…**

**Lily: Eloquent as always Sellie.**

**George: Sellie! Ha!**

**Selene: Shut up George.**

**Angelina: Come on, Quiddit-**

**Harry: Not now, Angelina, we're doing a little… what is this again?**

**Ron: No idea, mate.**

**Hermione: I think it's a little celebration because the author had reached 50 chapters.**

**George: GREAT! Is the author hot?**

**Angelina: GEORGE!**

**Me: Ha, sorry, I don't think so George. Get on with it then, you lot.**

**Fred: Bit rude, isn't she?**

**Me: Ha ha, very funny. Now shut your pieholes.**

**Ron: Pie… Mmm…**

**Selene: So, yeah, the author owns me-**

**Fred: I thought I owned you? **

**Selene: Fred, dating someone is not the same as owning them.**

**Fred: Oh. Well, the author does not own me. I am FREE!**

**Hermione: Actually we're owned by JK Rowling.**

**Lily: I'm owned by the author too, you know?**

**Me: Authoress.**

**Lily: Whatever. **

**Alicia: Thing is, the author does not Harry Potter. She is very lazy-**

**Me: OI!**

**Katie: So she hasn't written a disclaimer in ages.**

* * *

**I have a mini announcement to make.**

**This is now officially a WIP again. So there won't be regular updates, but I'll update after I've finished each chapter. SO DON'T FREAK IF I DON'T UPDATE FOR A WHILE SOMETIMES! I am NOT on hiatus. Siriusly, would I do that to you? :D**

**Thank you to Dolonega Noquisi – I love how Fred and Selene are mirroring the past too. I think it's kinda sweet…**

**Gurl5678, I'm a still against getting another sister. Sorry. Rosie, the one who's two and a half years younger than me, has just started High School, and my friends are in love with her. 51, sure. 52? Deffos. 100? YEP YEP YEPPITTY YEP! (A taste of things to come :D)**

**Guest: ah, no worries (Hakuna Matata!). And I will use your idea, but not in this chapter. But definitely before the twins leave. Drunk teenagers are always fun to write. **

**MarineAstriella, yes, they are related. But I worked it out, and they're 6****th**** cousins or something. It's funny, really. If you're not English, you won't know what the hell I'm on about, but I'm related to Kate Middleton, who's married to Prince William. I'm her seventh cousin six times removed. So, not really related. But Fred/Selene isn't incest. But yeah, no more. Again, maybe on 75 chapters… **

**HT118: Needed to add Andromeda in soon. I love Andy.**

**Well. Who's been wondering about Selene's panic attacks? I hope my explanation is both interesting and not Mary-Sue-ish. With that in mind, REVIEW, PLEASE!**

* * *

"Well uh oh, oh I love her because she moves in her own way." She Moves In Her Own Way by The Kooks [One of the most listened to songs on my iTunes, apparently].

* * *

Chapter 49: Explaining All

"'O's there!" Hagrid called from inside his hut, and a barking sound erupted too. Selene jumped backwards, almost toppling over, but Fred held her upright.

"It's okay love." He chuckled. "It's just Fang, he's like me but in dog form."

Selene smiled weakly, but tried to keep out of view as the hut door opened. "Fred, George!" Hagrid greeted jovially, as he saw the two redheads that were on his doorstep. "Been wonderin' when you two were gonna pop by."

"Hagrid, this is Selene." George proudly pushed Selene into view. "She's a bit shy."

Selene stumbled into the doorframe, her face flushing red. "Sorry Professor." She apologised.

"Ah, jus' call me Hagrid, everyone does." Hagrid waved a hand airily (or as airily as he could manage). "You know ol' Nymphadora Tonks? She was much clumsier than you."

"She's my cousin." Selene admitted, and Hagrid's forehead furrowed.

"Oh, you mus' be…" Hagrid's face adopted an expression of realisation. "Ah, Professor Dumbledore tol' me 'bout you. Nice to officially meet ya tho'."

"Um… you too." Selene said nervously. "Harry's told me a lot about you."

Hagrid nodded. "I was the firs' one to hold him, ya know? After 'is mother and father, course. Such a tiny thing, wi' messy 'air and everything." He chucked loudly, and shook his head. "You three mus' come in! Don't jus' stand there!"

He stood aside to open up the gap of the front door, and George pushed past Selene to go in first, and was promptly attacked by a huge dog that must have been Fang. "'Ello!" He greeted, scratching the huge dog behind its ears. "How are you?"

Fang let out a huge bark, and George chuckled, plopping himself in one of Hagrid's armchairs and beginning to be squashed by the dog. The interior of the hut was not, as Selene's father and Draco had often claimed, a savage's place. It was warm, from the fire in the far wall, and had a mismatched collection of chairs and tables scattered around the place. Dead pheasants and chickens hung from the ceiling, and Selene spotted a large black scorch mark on the top of the table.

"Umbridge has been here?" Fred asked incredulously, picking up a piece of scented pink writing paper from Hagrid's table.

Hagrid scowled, and picked up the paper between two fingers. "She was here on the weekend. Got this this morning, the time and date of my inspection apparently. But that doesn't matter." His beetle eyes drifted to Selene curiously. "So, tell me. 'Ow did ya get messed up wi' these two, eh?"

Selene blushed, and ran her hand through her hand. "It's a bit of a long story actually." She began, but George cut in.

"I sat next to her in DADA last year, I sat her and Fred up, and now we're all one big happy family!" He grinned, his face falling when he saw the looks Fred and Selene were giving him. "What? That's the short version!"

Hagrid chuckled again and shook his head. "What'll I do wi' you two?" He rumbled. "Nah, Dumbledore tol' me a little, ya know. Olympe missed 'aving you at Beauxbatons too Selene."

"How do you know Madam Maxime?" Selene said, alarmed. "Olympe?"

Hagrid blushed, and waved a hand as airily as he could manage. "It's nothin'." He insisted. "Jus' doing a little work for Dumbledore, ya know 'ow it is."

Over in France, in the luxurious Palace of Beauxbatons, in the large and expansive Headmistress's office, Olympe Maxime sneezed, sending all of her paperwork everywhere.

* * *

November melted into December, bringing with it an onslaught of cold weather and pitiful excuses to skip classes.

"OI!" Selene whirled around, nearly knocking into a group of third years as she did. Lily was sprinting towards her, going a mile a minute in a crowded corridor. "YES, YOU THERE! GIRL IN THE RAVENCLAW ROBES!"

"What is it now Lily?" Selene sighed, rolling her eyes inwardly and standing to one side.

"Guess." Lily said adamantly, her green eyes sparkling with excitement. "It's not hard, come on."

Selene bit her lip, and looked around them. "Lily, I really don't have time for this." She insisted. "I have to meet Professor Flitwick in five minutes."

"Come _on…_" Lily whined. "_Please? _I'll give you a clue, it's one thing not two."

"Okay, you've finally been bitten by a willing Vampire." Selene guessed quickly.

Lily's eyebrows quirked, and she stood there for a split second before shaking her head. "No, not yet. But I will do one day…" Her voice drifted off before she continued. "Anyway. I'mtakingoverfromyourboyfriendintheGryffindorQuidditchteamandbecominganewBeater." She said quickly, her words jumbling up in her haste to get them out.

"Sorry, what?" Selene asked curiously, shaking her head.

Lily sighed. "I'm. Taking. Over. From. Your. Boyfriend. In. The. Gryffindor. Team."

"Well done!" Selene said, still slightly confused but getting the gist. "Umm… yeah. Have you told Fred and George yet?"

Lily shrugged. "Oh, did I also mention that I'm allowed to spend the Christmas holiday with you lot." She said in a monotone. "Mum wasn't really pleased, but Dad got her round to the idea. But I get to meet my ex-convicted-murderer-runaway-cousin, which should be pretty cool, and I also get to bug Pr- Remus about what it's like to work at Hogwarts with people like me to teach."

"That'll be nice." Selene checked her watch, which didn't do her much good.

Like most Wizarding watches, Selene's didn't tell the exact time. It had been a gift from her great uncle Orion when she was thirteen, and as a result the watch strap wasn't normal gold like most watches, but a candy-striped pattern of alternating blue, green, silver and bronze. Instead of where the numerals would be on a normal Muggle clock, there were phrases. For example, the gap at the top, where the number twelve would be, read 'Stop looking at me, you slacker'. Currently it was pointing to 'Go now, or risk being late'. "I'm sorry, I need to go now Lily." Selene said quickly, pushing her sleeve back down over the watch. "Go and tell Fred and George though, I'm sure they'll have time to chat."

"Well, we have MMM tonight, don't we?" Lily grinned, swapping the DA for MMM, something that annoyed everyone equally. "I'll see Hurricane Gred and Forge then. Don't you dare tell them before!" She shouted after Selene, who had begun to make a speedy exit down the corridor.

* * *

Professor Flitwick looked up from his marking when Selene walked in, making a breathy apology under her breath and taking a huge breath in and out. "It's fine." He insisted, pulling a char out for her with the help of his wand. "You look rather harassed Miss Malfoy, is everything quite alright?"

"Oh, everything's fine thank you." Selene said quickly, taking out he large pile of work and depositing it in front of the tiny Charms Professor. "Just a few problems, that's all."

Professor Flitwick nodded. "Ah, I meant to ask you." He squeaked. "How are Misters Weasley and Potter doing?"

"Oh, they're fine." Selene said slowly, slightly taken aback by this turn of conversation. "I don't think Professor Umbridge was kidding when she said a lifetime ban by any means."

"I wouldn't have thought so." Professor Flitwick said sombrely. "But there are more pressing matters to attend to my dear. Namely, the progress of both your tutoring and your work."

Selene nodded, and fished in her bag for a crisp piece of parchment. "It's Colin's progress report." She said quickly. "I had my last session with him last night. But I've also been helping Neville Longbottom, so there's one for him as well."

"Thank you." Professor Flitwick gave Selene a warm smile. "In fact, Mr Longbottom has already approached me about setting up an official tutoring time for next term, of you weren't too busy."

"Oh, of course." Selene said warmly. "He's doing really well, in all sorts, not just Charms."

"I maintain that you would make an excellent teacher." Professor Flitwick said jovially. "These reports are very detailed, and from the mass of work you've presented me with I doubt that the Committee will have any problem with submitting you for the course beginning next September, despite your age."

"So I'll be the youngest there?" Selene said uncertainly.

Flitwick nodded. "By a long way." He admitted. "But you'll be fine, you're the most talented student I've ever taught in this subject and you can easily hold your own against adults. I've already sent off some of the papers you did for me in September, and they've all come back with positive comments."

Selene allowed herself a little smile at this, and Flitwick beamed. "But we have a slight problem." He said, his smile dropping.

"What is it Professor?" Selene said, placing her hands in her lap.

"As well as references from me, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Babbling, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, you are also required to have a letter of recommendation from your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Selene blinked, and fought the urge to groan. Umbridge would probably rather confess her love for Remus and marry him in a very public wedding than give her anything close to what Selene required. Even before her detentions, Umbridge was beginning to collect evidence to drop her as Head Girl, and she would have immense fun in dragging Selene's reputation into the dirt. "Oh." She eventually decided upon saying, which wasn't half of the thoughts whirling through her head at the present moment.

"So, I say this with your best interests in mind." Professor Flitwick tented his fingers and regarded Selene with a piercing stare. "Keep on Madam Umbridge's good side, and she will have no further reason to deny you the letter."

Selene nodded, dread settling in her stomach.

* * *

"Um… Harry?" Selene said quietly, minutes before the last DA meeting of term was due to start.

Harry glanced up, his face echoing his surprise. "Oh, hey Selene." He greeted, stepping away from Ron and Hermione, who cats the pair curious glances. "Are you okay?"

Selene managed a laugh, which submerged into a cough, yet another remnant of her… well; problem would be an apt word for it. It wasn't a condition or a disease, and couldn't be cured easily at all. "Um… how do you stop, well." She bit her lip unconsciously. "How do you stop your… link with Voldemort?"

"I don't" Harry said simply, his face furrowing in concern. "Are you okay? Why do you need to know?"

"It's… it's a bit strange." Selene admitted. "I don't think I have the time to explain it to you now."

Harry nodded at Ron and Hermione, who blew the whistle and begun to gather everyone together. "It must be important if you have to ask me." He said, with a rueful smile. "You're probably the smartest in your year."

"Oh, I'm not." Selene insisted, but dragged her mind away from that topic. "I was talking to Dumbledore a few weeks ago, about my flashbacks and panic attacks."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Did you find out the cause?" He asked, in a whisper, despite the hubbub behind them.

"This is what I'm talking to you about." Selene swallowed and looked around. "You have a two-way mental link with Voldemort, don't you?"

"Yes…?" Harry said gingerly, shifting uncomfortably.

"Voldemort was one of the first people to hold me, when I was a baby." Selene begun to explain. "Apparently my father viewed it as a great honour, to have your children held by Voldemort. The same happened to Draco. But what Dumbedore found out, by examining some of my memories and the placement of some mental blocks I have, is that when I was less than a day old, Voldemort placed a one-way link on me, granting him access to my memories."

Harry blinked, and gasped. "Oh, god, so you have premonitions of what he's doing too?" He guessed.

"No, not quite." Selene continued. "I don't have access to his memories, but he can get to mine. When I broke down a barrier I had, which was my secret about Fabian and Gideon Prewett, it activated. But, as I don't have a physical link to him, like your scar, the link is a little… a little fragile."

"What does that mean?"

"It means every time Voldemort tries to get to my memories, I get sick and he can't immediately find them. It's a little like Legimancy, but based on Dark Magic because no one knows how to put barriers up. Dumbledore's working on it, but Occlumency seems my best bet so far. I'll be taking lessons with Professor Snape after the holidays."

Harry gulped, and did something neither of them expected. He hugged Selene quickly around the middle, and then pulled back equally as fast. "Um…" He trailed off, his face rather red. "I'm sorry… it's not a nice thing to have to deal with…"

"It's fine Harry." Selene insisted, her face rather pink as well

"Who else knows?" Harry asked uncertainly, looking around the DA room. He winced as Neville shot Ginny with a badly placed Jelly-Legs jinx.

"Well, Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Snape, Fred, George, I think Hagrid does too, McGonagall sent a letter to the Order, and I wrote to Fleur this morning. So not many people, just the people who have to know." Selene admitted. "Can you… can you tell Ron and Hermione though? They need to know just as much as you do."

Harry nodded, not surprised that Selene didn't want to tell everyone herself. "No problem." He said, smiling at her. "No, really, there's no-"

"I know Harry." Selene hugged Harry fleetingly too. They both flushed again, but Harry's attention was caught by Cho. Selene smiled knowingly, and winked at the fifth year as she walked over to Luna and Lily.

"_Spongify_!" Lily yelled, just as Selene greeted them, and swung round, the spell going in an arc which hit first Neville, then Ginny, then Luna, leaving a trail of destruction in it's wake. "Oh, hi Sellie!"

"Hello Selene…" Luna said dreamily, picking herself up and dusting the dirt off her robes. "I saw you talking to Harry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Luna." Selene said, smiling back at the dreamy girl. "What about you?"

Luna nodded, her smile dropping into a serious expression. "Daddy sent me a letter about the Wrackspurts in our garden." She said, and Lily guffawed silently. "They seem to like it there, it might be the Dirgible Plums."

"Oh, great!" Selene said, as convincingly as she could sound. "That's… um, interesting!"

"I know it is." Luna said seriously, and Lily just about fell over with silent laughter.

"Right, everyone!" Harry shouted over the hubbub. "That was great! Every single one of you has made progress, and this is the last lesson of the term! Next term I'm thinking of focusing on Patronus Charms and other advanced magic, which should be easy considering everyone's progress this term! Keep practicing over the holidays, and… well, Merry Christmas!"

Everyone began to clap, and gradually people began to disperse, most clapping Harry on the back and wishing him a Merry Christmas. Selene noticed Cho standing over by the newspaper cuttings and smiled sadly, deciding to leave her friend to grieve in peace.

"Merry Christmas Harry." Selene said quietly, after the twins had left Harry alone, her eyes sliding over to Cho without realising. "Hope it's a good one."

"You too." Harry answered, although it seemed pretty stupid, as they would be spending the holiday together at The Burrow anyway.

Then her began to walk towards Cho, and Selene stifled a smirk as she walked over to where Fred and George were waiting, just outside the door of the Room. "Harry getting it on then, eh?" George grinned, ruffling Selene's hair, who attended to it with a frown.

"You shouldn't talk about either Harry or Cho like that." She reprimanded sternly. "He's just going to… help her, that's all."

Fred rolled his eyes at Selene's choice of words, but slipped his arm around her waist and guided her up the staircase. "Come to Gryffindor tower?" He asked pleasantly, using his 'puppy-dog eyes' when Selene looked dubious. "'Lene, come on… I need help with Transfiguration, and it's _Christmas…_"

"We're going to spend the whole holiday together." Selene reminded him, a little worried about the general rules concerning members of other houses visiting your common room. During the day it was acceptable, but Selene wasn't sure about any other time of day.

"A bit of fun." George cut in. "Tell you what, it'll get you out of pranking someone, okay?"

"Okay then." Selene sighed, and the twins hi-fived. "But I swear, if you get me into trouble you two…"

"Who do you take us for?" Fred said, mock-annoyed. "Idiots! My love, nothing bad will happen, I promise you."

* * *

"A HA!" George grinned, shoving the Chocolate Frog in his mouth and holding up the card triumphantly. "Ptolemy, at last!"

"You still collect them?" Selene asked, somewhat curiously. "I never did. I got Dumbledore and Agrippa, then I discovered Acid Pops."

George responded by chucking a Dumbledore card at her, and Selene ducked and it hit Fred in the nose. Fred responded by giving his twin the two-fingered salute.

"Fred, the Headmaster's in the room!" Selene said dramatically, and Fred immediately looked around for Dumbledore.

"What, where?" He asked hurriedly, checking the whole common room.

"Um… on the card." Selene face-palmed as an expression of sudden realisation appeared on Fred's face. "Don't tell me you actually thought Dumbledore was here."

Fred mumbled something under his breath and masked his embarrassment by pecking Selene on the cheek and eating an Every Flavour Bean, in quick succession. "Oh, strawberries." He smirked, and Selene coloured, thinking back to the evening that they'd fallen asleep in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place. Evidently George thought of this too, because he went slightly green and shuddered.

"Keep it to yourselves you two, single man in the room." George muttered, gesturing to himself.

"Yeah, but you don't have to be single mate." Fred rolled his eyes. "You should see the way you stare at Angelina sometimes."

George sat bolt upright. "Am I that obvious?" He demanded, but stopped when he saw Fred and Selene's smiles. "Oh. If you dare tell anyone, I-"

"Angie already knows." Selene grinned. "She's waiting for you to make the first move Georgie-pie."

"Bloody hell." George sighed, shoving another Chocolate Frog in his mouth. "Okay." He said, through a mouthful of chocolate, but he swallowed when he saw the look Selene gave him. "I promise I will ask her out before Easter, okay?"

"You'd better hurry up." Fred warned. "I saw Roger giving her the look the other day."

George grimaced, and shook his head. "Don't let me think about Roger giving anyone the look, let alone Angel- Angie."

"Angel?" Fred pretended to vomit. "You can talk about me and 'Lene George!"

George gritted his teeth. "I swear." He said seriously. "I swear Fred, Selene, if you tell _anyone _about that nickname, I will bloody ask Ginny how she gets her Bat-Bogey Hexes so strong and use them against both of you."

"I promise." Fred answered, equally as seriously. Selene stifled a giggle, but nodded solemnly too.

"Great!" George exclaimed, picking up the box of Every Flavour Beans and shoving one yellow-coloured bean into his mouth. He spat it out into his hand and chucked it into the fire a moment later, a disgusted expression on his face. "Caterpillar." He grimaced.

"The worst one I've had is definitely dirt flavour." Fred pulled a face akin to George's. "I still don't think I've got the taste out yet."

"Sock flavour." Selene shrugged, seeing the expressions that the twins gave her. "I don't eat them very much and it was pretty vile at the time."

George threw another bean in her direction, and Selene caught it in her hand and transferred it to her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully for a moment, before going green and swallowing regretfully. "I think that might have been grass flavour." She shuddered, hitting Fred lightly on the arm when she sniggered.

"Well, I sense that Lee may be getting a little lonely, all on his lonesome in the dormitory." George stood up unceremoniously. "Coming Fred?" He corrected himself before his twin could answer. "Oh, sorry I forgot. You two stay down here tonight then, let me know about it all tomorrow."

With a jaunty wink, George disappeared up the stairs to his dormitory, leaving a stunned Fred and a red Selene alone in the empty common room.

"Um…" Fred said, for a want of something more to say.

Selene checked her watch, rolling her eyes inwardly when all it said was 'Midnight-ish'. "I think I need to go back to Ravenclaw tower now Fred." She said carefully, avoiding his eyes. No matter how long she'd been dating Fred, she would never be able to get used to George's innuendos.

"You can't go now, Filch will be patrolling right outside the common room right now." Fred protested, holding up Selene's wrist so he could read her watch as well. "Yup, it's midnight. Come on, surely you can stay here?"

There was a teasing note in his voice, but Selene still felt a little wary. "I… isn't that technically not allowed?" She asked quietly.

Fred sighed, and pulled her down so her head was resting on his chest. "Calm down love." He said quietly. "Any teasers about my Christmas present?"

"Not a chance." Selene said adamantly, closing her eyes. "I think you'll like it though."

"I'm sure I will." Fred grinned, flicking his eyes downward to check her face, and smirking when he saw that she was already half-asleep. "I make a good pillow then, I take it?"

Selene murmured something half-legible, and Fred laughed and ran his fingers through her hair lightly. She shifted slightly, and opened her eyes again to look up at Fred. "I might as well be comfy if you won't let me go back to my dormitory."

"Damn straight." Fred teased, pressing his lips briefly to her forehead and snuggling back down into the sofa. "Hmm… you're snuggly…"

"Snuggly?" Selene let out a delicate laugh. "I never knew that you'd use words like that. Ever."

"What, it's a great word!" Fred pouted. "It is the best word, and it would make an excellent weapon too. We'd just have to snuggle Voldemort to death."

Selene laughed again, and nodded against his chest. "It's a great word." She murmured, craning her head to peck him on the lips. "You're pretty snuggly too."

"I know I am. We have scintillating conversations, don't we?"

"You used a big word." Selene yawned. "Well… Done."

* * *

"FRED! GEORGE!" Ron just about yelled, running into the seventh-year boys dormitory, waking all the occupants up. Kenneth Towler glared from the other side of the dormitory, before pulling the sheets back over his head.

George opened his eyes blearily, and raised an eyebrow at his younger brother. "Whatsdamatter?" He slurred, trying to sit upright. Ron ran over to Fred's bed, which was of course empty.

"Where's Fred?" Ron demanded, his eyes alight with fear. "Is he okay?"

"Ron, what is the matter?" George asked, now fully awake. "And Fred's in the common room."

Ron ignored the second part of George's comment, and looked straight at him in fear. "It's Dad." He said urgently. George propped himself up onto his elbows, blinking. "He's been attacked."

In the blink of an eye, George was on his feet. Lee got up too, and switched on the light. "Where's Fred?" George asked, despite the fact that he had answered that question not a minute ago.

"You said he was in the common room." Lee reminded George, looking just as afraid as the brothers. "You'd better go and get him, your Dad…" He didn't finish his sentence, trailing into an almost guilty silence.

Ron and George tumbled into the common room, where Professor McGonagall was waiting, with an already awake Fred and Selene. Ron gave Selene nothing more than a puzzled cursory glance before turning his attention to Professor McGonagall, who was dressed in a tartan dressing gown. Normally Fred or George would make a comment about her fashion sense, but both of them looked at each other.

Selene looked terrified, her face was deathly pale and she was supporting Fred with one arm. Professor McGonagall pursed her lips at the pair, but she didn't have the heart to reprimand either of them. "Thank you Ron." Somewhere in Ron's brain, something registered that she had called him by his first name for the first ever time, but he wasn't concerned about that. "We need to get you all to Professor Dumbledore's office." She said grimly. "Selene, you as well please. Sirius has contacted Professor Dumbledore asking for you to be moved as soon as possible as well."

"Yes Professor." Selene replied, her voice quiet, but holding a certain resonance that did not go unnoticed by Professor McGonagall. The old teacher nodded, and began to open her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut almost irritably.

"Come along." Professor McGonagall said, in as warm a tone as she could muster. "We don't have a long time until Dolores discovers that you are all out of your beds."

Ginny, who had been hiding behind Selene, stepped forward and slipped her hand into Selene's fearfully. George took her other hand, while Ron just stared at the floor. "How did you find out?" Fred asked, his voice high-pitched, as Professor McGonagall pushed open the Fat Lady's portrait.

Professor McGonagall glanced at Selene almost unconsciously. "From Harry." She said slowly. "He had another vision, this one was of your father's attack. He's been transferred to 's, but it's too early to tell…"

Ginny let out a quiet sob, and stepped closer to her brother and Selene, and in turn both George and Selene moved closer to Ginny. Professor McGonagall bit back a bitter smile. It was always in times of need that family never failed to pull together. One tiny detail that she had omitted from her explanation was that Professor Dumbledore had also asked for Selene to come, with the understanding that she was accepted just as much by the Weasleys as she wasn't by her own direct family. Dolores wouldn't take kindly to having many students leaving school at very short notice, especially not the Head Girl and Harry Potter, but that was unavoidable.

"Miss Tonks and Miss Granger will join you all at a later date." Professor McGonagall explained further, and Ginny looked up in shock at Lily's name. "Yes, Miss Tonks is joining you all at Grimmauld Place this holiday. I understand that she is very excited about it."

"Great, we get the crazy vampire chick!" George joked feebly, but it made Ginny smile somewhat and a flicker of a smile appear on Selene's face. "Do you remember the World Cup Gin? Lily wouldn't stop talking about Viktor Krum, and then when Ireland won she made out that she'd been all about Lynch instead."

Selene hummed non-committedly, thinking back to her World Cup momentarily. The mad tent that was more like a mini-Malfoy Manor, the fast furious game that was the match and…

Her blood turned to ice. Professor McGonagall had told them nothing about the circumstances under Mr Weasley's attack, but it was plain to see. He was in the Order, and he might have been guarding the weapon that they were so reluctant to tell Selene, Hermione and the younger Weasleys over the summer. So he would have been attacked…

By Voldemort.

**I hope everyone saw that coming. Just wanted to push Frelene to the limit for now, I think. Nearly pushed it a little further, but not today. ;).**

**Oh, and Selene has a mental link to Voldie! Who'd have guessed it? Not me, got it while I was eating curry!**

**OH MY CHEESECAKES! THE VERY LAST QUESTION TIME! (For now…)**

**Guest asked Fred: What do you do when Selene, Lee and George aren't around?**

**Fred: Sleep. George is in all my classes, I'm with Lee in the common room too, and Selene's with me all the rest of the time. It's only when I'm asleep that I don't see them.**

**Guest asked George: What do you do when Selene, Lee and Fred aren't around?**

**George: Well. About that. *rubs back of neck* I might be deciding on how best to score Angel-Angie. Oh god, did it again…**

**Guest asked Draco: If you had the chance, would you run away just like Selene did?**

**Draco: Um… I don't… um… know. Mum… she was pretty torn up about Selene, and Dad…**

**MarineAstriella asked Lily: Why don't you often show your Sirius (pun intended) side?**

**Lily: GREAT! I love you (not in that way, get your mind outta the gutter!)! AWESOME pun! And in answer, I am Sirius- I mean serious. Just not always. *bares teeth***

**MarineAstriella asked Narcissa: If you could, would you make it so your family still had Selene and you guys weren't pure blood supremists and what not?**

**Narcissa: I would, I truly would. But I believe in what I believe, and when I married Lucius I agreed to keep to those beliefs. But I know enough to know that I can't keep Selene. She doesn't belong with us.**

**MarineAstriella asked Mrs. Weasley: Do you think Fred and Selene's relationship is too fast?**

**Mrs Weasley: Well dear, I'm really at not liberty to comment on that. But they're not as fast as William and… that French girl. But I don't want grandchildren from them until they're at least twenty-six. Edward has the right idea.**

**MarineAstriella asked George: Do you think Fred will get married first?**

**George: Oh, yes. Without a doubt. Selene' going to be an awesome twin-sister-in-law. She gets two for the price of one!**

**MarineAstriella asked Fred: Vice-Versa of George's question?**

**Fred: *flinches* Um… no idea. Maybe… maybe… Come on, give me a break here! **

**MarineAstriella asked Selene: Who's your best Gryffindor girl friend?**

**Selene: I… I have loads, thinking about it. Angie, Allie, Katie, Ginny, Hermione, Lily I guess would count… Do I have to pick one? *under her breath* Probably Hermione.**

**That's… it.**

**The last lot of questions.**

**For a while, at least.**

**Please review; I would like a massive amount to mark this occasion! Remember to do the poll on my profile; too, at the moment FOX is winning. If you don't like it, change it.**

**Well, signing off.**

**Eleanor xxx**


	51. Chapter 50: C, B, S and B

**Hello!**

**Sorry about the wait, that's what school does to you! I recently set up an Instagram account, so just PM me if you're interested. I'm not interesting, so it'll mostly be writing updates, adventures of my pet Dalek Bleepy and pictures of my books and computer games. Yup, that's it.**

**Thank you to The souless ones (don't stop me now! I'm havin' such a great time!).**

**BellatrixD – no problem about the reviews. Siriusly, it's okay. I'm okay. Thanks for the praise, all of it. Hope this is just as good :D**

**Guest: oh, that sounds nasty. I'm glad I provide you with reading material though.**

**Dalonega Noquisi, great! Got it on a whim, pleased that it's unexpected. Fox is still winning, for now…**

**MysteriousMindBlockedHeart: I LOVED IT TOO! **

**HT118: I'm a little bit of a fluff bunny… Anyway, Chapter 51/52 for Lily/Sirius interaction. (SPOILER! He sent her the flick knife). **

**Guest (Who's Gurl5678 :D) Thanks! It didn't take a month, so Hakuna Matata. Now, Fred and George would like to say that the fireworks are winging their way towards you as I write this. But they want to randomly show up at your house, just to surprise you. Bit pointless now.**

**Dumblesbashing: Sainsbury's, eh? We only have a Tesco's in my little town. There's one in Hereford though. A little weird, but sweet all the same. I am the opposite of Selene; I am loud, annoying and not shy in the slightest. **

**Remember to do my poll, if you have not done so already! There's a new option of 'Owl'. 'Fox' is still winning, at time of print.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

"You made 'em laugh, you made 'em cry, you made us feel like we could fly." - Radio Ga Ga by Queen

* * *

Chapter 50: Cousins, Brothers, Sisters And Boyfriends

"Selene." Sirius placed his hands on his cousin's shoulders, snapping her out of her daydream. "Why aren't you in the drawing room with the rest of them?"

Selene sighed, and bit her lip. "Harry's awkward enough, being there." She admitted, picking up a dirty pan and mindlessly beginning to wash it. "But he saw the vision of… Mr Weasley's attack, so he has a little right to wait with them."

Sirius shook his head, and pulled the pan forcefully from her hands. "So all this I hear about your link is untrue?" He said sharply. "Selene, _it was not your fault_. If there's one curse the Blacks have it is that we wallow in the fact that we believe ourselves to be the ones to blame. Why do you think I spent so long in Azkaban, when I could have got out whenever?"

"I never said it was my fault." Selene said, her voice trembling slightly. "I… I know it's not, but still…"

"Selene, go to the drawing room, now." Sirius said, a warning note in his voice. "Just because you are not technically a Weasley, does not mean that you aren't. I daresay that as soon as Fred…" He took a deep breath, like the next sentence was going to cause him intense pain. "As soon as Fred _fell in love _with you that you became a Weasley. And you have just as much right to worry as Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Charlie or Bill. Okay? Go."

He pushed Selene towards the door of the kitchen slightly forcefully, managing a slightly wry smile in her direction. "Go." He echoed. "They need you. Harry especially."

Selene looked at Sirius with something akin to desperation, but her cousin and god uncle had turned himself away from Selene, and was now washing the pan that Selene had tried to clean herself. He hummed the chorus of 'A Cauldron Full Of Hot, Strong Love' under his breath as he cleaned it, completely ignoring Selene.

"A cauldron full of hot, strong love, to keep me warm tonight!" He raised his voice so he was now singing in a high soprano. Selene winced, but still Sirius continued. "AND NOW YOU'VE TORN IT QUITE APART I'D THANK YOU TO GIVE BACK MY HEART!"

Selene wordlessly walked backwards out of the room, keeping a wary eye on Sirius as she did. As the door snapped shut behind her, Sirius looked around, smiled, satisfied, and launched into a revamped version of 'Dance Like A Hippogriff'.

When Selene pushed open the door to the drawing room again, the Weasleys and Harry all looked up with such hope in their eyes that Selene swallowed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I…" She couldn't form any of the words that should follow – I know nothing, I can't help, I don't know. Harry was the only one who was truly awake, his eyes bright and alert. Ginny was dropping off into a doze against George's shoulder, and in turn the twins were drowsy and unfocused. Ron was almost as alert as Harry, but even his eyelids were beginning to droop.

Fred looked up as Selene walked over, and quietly shifted along so there was a space between him and George. Harry and her met eyes briefly, and Selene saw her own ache and worry echoed there, so she dropped them quickly, leaning into Fred's side and breathing in the familiar smells of gunpowder and vanilla. It was ironic to think that, only two or three hours ago, they had been doing the exact same thing, only on the Gryffindor common room sofa, eating Chocolate Frogs and Every Flavour Beans. They never did get around to Fred's Transfiguration homework.

She closed her eyes, knowing that, however hard she tried, she would never be able to sleep at a time like this. Selene could hide her feelings, but she couldn't indefinitely. It had happened before, but it couldn't happen now. The Weasleys didn't deserve it.

"You okay?" Selene's head jerked up slightly, looking at Fred strangely. Why was he asking how _she _was? She didn't matter.

All the same, she bit her lip. "Worried." She said in a small voice, answering for the whole room. "But don't worry about me. How are you?"

Fred shook his head as an explanation, and Selene took off the blanket that Sirius had draped around her when she first walked into Grimmauld Place some time before and pulled it over her, Fred, George and Ginny. It was a pretty big blanket, but Selene didn't have enough of her brain dedicated to thinking logically right now to work out why it was so big. When Fred pushed his fingers through her hair, Selene relaxed slightly and closed her eyes again.

Harry was gnawing his fingers right down to the bone now. Ron had dropped into a half-doze, Ginny was fast asleep against George and Selene was curled up next to Fred. It seemed that sleep was all finally taking them, but Harry knew that it would be a long time until he slept.

He sighed, and shifted as slowly as he could in his armchair, being careful not to wake Ginny up. Voldemort had hijacked him while he was asleep, placed him in the body of Nagini and for some reason, let Harry know what he was doing.

Maybe it had been unintentional? Harry doubted that. Voldemort had more than enough self-control. It might have been a kind of statement, to let everyone know how strong Lord Voldemort was becoming. But it would have been better to leave Mr Weasley in the Ministry to really get the Order on the edge.

It was times like this that Harry really wished that he had the brains of Hermione.

Although he did know one thing. His eyes unconsciously sought out Selene, who looked almost asleep by now. She had been a baby, only hours old, when she was given a mental link by Voldemort. And she had known nothing about it until two, maybe three weeks ago.

Harry shook his head. All the time he had known her, she had insisted that she wasn't brave, she wasn't that smart, she wasn't loyal, wasn't kind, wasn't nice. But she was. And she was incredibly brave, just to have told him what was wrong with her. His mind flashed back to the shy, quiet, mousey girl of last year and he almost smiled.

Then Sirius burst into the room, shocking Ginny, Selene and Ron awake and making the twins and Harry sit up straighter. "He's okay!" Sirius exclaimed, and everyone relaxed. Selene stood up, regardless of the fact that she had been asleep not 30 seconds earlier and hugged Sirius around the middle, laughing with relief.

When Selene had let go, Sirius walked over to Harry and placed his hands on his shoulders, then nodded, beaming broadly and giving him a loose hug too. "You can all go to see him tomorrow." Sirius continued, still grinning. "Molly's with him now, he's safe, it's alright."

It felt like a large weight that no one had been aware of had been lifted from the room. Ginny was smiling again, looking a lot less vulnerable than she had been. And Selene was standing to one side with Harry, watching the Weasleys celebrate amongst themselves. "Do you remember?" Selene asked quietly, looking at Fred and Ron laughing by the fire.

"Remember what?" Harry asked, surprised and confused.

"Being part of a family like…" Selene gestured to the Weasleys. "This."

Harry shook his head, feeling a dead weight drift into his stomach. "I can't remember my parents, except for a few details." He admitted. "I remember our cat. I think it was called Elvendork, it was a Cat/Kneazle crossbreed like Crookshanks."

"Wonder where it is now." Selene thought aloud, looking at Harry briefly, then letting her gaze drift back to Fred and Ron. "Hopefully after… your parents died, it found a nice family to take it in."

"I'd be nice to see… erm… Elvendork again." Harry smiled at the taste of the name in his mouth. "But I doubt she'd still be around."

"It was a she then?" Selene shook her head. "I though Elvendork was unisex."

Harry let out a little laugh. "I guess Sirius told you that too then?" He guessed. "My Dad wanted to call me Elvendork, but I think Mum put her foot down."

A certain degree of sadness floated into Harry's voice when he mentioned his Mum and Dad, and Selene swallowed. "I'm sorry." She said, in a small voice.

"Don't be." Harry said quickly. "It's not like I can miss them, I only remember Elvendork. And anyway, I have the Weasleys."

Selene nodded, slightly sadly. She swallowed again, and pushed her hair out of her face. Being here, with the laughing and smiling Weasleys only made her think of the Mirror. It was almost too akin to it for it to seem real to her. "You have them too." Harry added, startling her. "I know Mr and Mrs Weasley really like you, and George, Ron and Ginny see you as a sister, even if Ron would never admit it."

Harry grinned at her, and Selene smiled slightly as she noted that they were almost the same height. "That's nice." She said faintly.

"It's true." Harry insisted. "I see you as a kind of sister too… can I call you 'Leney?"

"You can call me whatever." Selene laughed, hugging Harry in a similar fashion to Sirius. "Thank you Harry."

Harry pulled back, taking his glasses off his face and dabbing at them with his shirt. "Okay then, Whatever." He teased lightly. "What? You said that I could call you that?"

"That's the oldest trick in the book _Harold_." Selene smiled, her expression dropping slightly when Harry shook his head. "It's not Harold? Is it Hamish?"

"Its just Harry." Harry shrugged. "Aunt Petunia says that it was unchristian, calling me by a shortened version of a name." He grimaced at the name of his aunt.

"Well, I'm sure Dumbledore won't mind someone checking up on you every so often." Selene said slowly. "Especially not in a time like this. Of course, I'd check with him first, but I'm sure he'd have no objections."

"You'd do that?" Harry said quietly, looking at Selene with wide eyes. "What with work, and Fred, and the shop?"

Selene nodded, her attention caught by Fred walking over to their corner and whirling her around like he had done at the Quidditch match so long ago. Selene laughed, just like she had done, but she didn't wait to find out what firework display he had created, she just smashed her lips to his.

Harry wolf-whistled, which made Selene break off quickly; aware that the room they were in was still very much occupied. Fred was staring at his girlfriend like he was the luckiest guy in the world and Selene had just grown two extra heads. Before either of them could react to the awkwardness, George grabbed Selene and hugged her in the same fashion as Fred had done, before winking and putting her down.

"Come on, all of you." Sirius called out, a humourous tone resonant in his voice as he played the responsible figure for once. "It's almost five in the morning, it's time you all got some sleep. We'll go and see Arthur at lunch, once you lot are all up. Go on!"

"He's okay." Ginny said under her breath, looking straight at Selene, who was still standing next to George. Then she grabbed the older girl's arm and pulled her out of the room. "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything." Selene said quickly, slightly confused. "It was Harry that found out where Mr Weasley was, I was just… there, I guess. Not in Harry's vision but…" Her voice trailed off, realising that she was about to start talking in circles.

Ginny rolled her eyes, and smiled. "Well, you helped, didn't you?"

"Not… really…" Selene insisted quietly.

"Shut up." Ginny complained, tugging Selene back into the room that they had shared with Hermione last summer. "Of course you helped! Stop being so stupid!" Her cheery voice lowered and lost some of its happiness. "I was really scared."

Selene sighed, and took a tentative step towards her, slipping an arm around Ginny's shoulders when she didn't protest. "Ginny, you had every right to be." She said slowly. "I won't lie, Mr Weasley might have…" She didn't want to say the word 'died', lest it became true, and the word made everything seem final. "But he's okay, and that's all you can say for now."

"But what if he did?" Ginny asked, her voice trembling. "What would happen then?"

"Then you'd still have Bill, and Charlie, and Fred and George, Ron and your Mum." Selene soothed, sitting the pair of them down. "And I know Remus and Dora would be behind you every step of the way too. You definitely would never be alone. But you don't need to worry about that, because he's _fine _Ginny."

Ginny shook her head quickly. "You…" She began, grasping for words blindly. "What would _you _do if Fred died?"

Selene froze, her blood running ice-cold. She swallowed, and then instinctively curled her legs up to her torso. "I…" She started; staring at her hands and feeling her eyes prick with tears. "I don't know." She admitted quietly, not looking at Ginny. "I don't think I'll ever be sure. And I hope…"

"Don't worry about it." Ginny said quickly. "I'm sure…"

They both didn't voice the reason that was running through the room. They couldn't be sure, and they did have to worry about it. There was a knock at the door of the room, and Ginny sprang up, grabbing her nightdress and opening the door. "Oh, hi." She said, in a normal voice. Selene was taken aback at the abrupt change in tone. "You want to talk to Selene, I guess."

"Hit it in one." Fred grinned, but the expression didn't quite meet his eyes. "You alright Gin?"

"Oh, I'm fine." Ginny insisted, pushing past her brother and giving him a little hug. "Relived, but I'm fine."

She disappeared around the corner, and Fred was alone with Selene, who was still sitting with her legs curled up to her stomach on the bed that would be Hermione's, when she got to Grimmauld Place. "You alright?" He repeated.

"Oh, I'm fine." Selene said, keeping her eyes trained on her hands. "Are you alright?"

"You know me, I'm always fine." Fred said dryly, smirking. He walked over to Selene and held his hand out for her. "Come on love, I want to show you something."

Selene blinked up at him for a few seconds, but she took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled to standing height. "What is it?" She asked quietly, face burning under Fred's scrutinising gaze.

"Well, I was going to show you, not tell you." He teased gently, leading her out of the open door. "Come on."

He led her up three flights of stairs, right up to the last floor of the house, where Sirius's bedroom was. Fred pulled Selene past the bedroom the direct left of Sirius' room, with the initials R.A.B. inscribed in the door. Regulus Black. Selene almost stopped dead in her tracks, but Fred pulled her past that door as well.

There was a wooden door, right at the end of the corridor. Fred kicked it open, and it shuddered open. There was a flight of wood wormed stairs behind the creaking door. "Um… are you sure those are safe?" Selene queried carefully, looking at the first step somewhat dubiously.

"Oh, of course they are!" Fred scoffed, stepping on the first one to prove his point. His foot went right through the rotten wood, and he moved himself away fairly quickly. "On second thoughts…"

Selene gingerly stepped over the first step, tensing when the second stair creaked. There was no further complaint, so she carefully placed her other foot on the step. "I think it's okay from there." She explained, looking backwards at Fred, who was staring at her with something akin to amazement. "What?"

"You are amazing, you know that?" He grinned, stepping next to her. "The Selene I bumped into wouldn't even look at the second step, let alone walk onto it."

The step made an ominous cracking noise, and the pair of them jumped almost simultaneously, which climaxed in them bumping into one another. Selene almost fell backwards, but Fred managed to catch her by the skin of his fingertips.

"Oh." Selene said, looking up at Fred's face, which only seemed to be closer to her own. "Um…"

Fred chuckled, and lifted her gently onto the next stair. "I think you'd better go ahead of me." He shrugged, smirking in the dim light from the old lampshade. "Then I can catch you if you fall."

"I won't fall." Selene insisted quietly, ignoring Fred's scoff. "It's more a case of _falling through these floorboards_ you lunatic."

"Truer words were never spoken." Fred grinned, and gently pushed Selene up to the next step. "Go on then, I don't think it's far to the top."

"Why aren't we apparating?" Selene asked, squinting up to the top of the stairs. "That would be a lot safer."

Fred face palmed. "I didn't actually think of that." He admitted, following her. "But anyway, this way is cooler. Go on, it'll take all night if we just stand here."

There were no further mishaps on the stairs, and Selene reached a rusty trapdoor, that had rusted into its hinges with age. With a little encouragement, she pushed at it, feeling the metal starting to give way beneath her palms.

Fred took a gamble, and stood next to her, pushing at it at the same time. This time the metal creaked, and a sprinkling of rust rained on their heads. "Put some effort into it!" He complained, pushing at it a third time and getting a crack of light.

With combined effort, the trapdoor creaked open, exposing grey concrete and a metal railing, the lightening sky just visible beyond. Fred climbed out first, then held out his hand to Selene to help her.

"Wow." Selene gasped, looking around the spot in which they had emerged, "Is this the roof?"

Fred nodded, looking around their surroundings. "Sirius told me about this place at the end of summer." He explained. "Then he walked away, so I wasn't warned about the rotting steps or how high it was going to be."

Selene went pale, skirting backwards from the edge. "Great." She echoed, avoiding looking at Fred. "Um… can we go now?"

"No." Fred said adamantly, grabbing her arm and hugging her. He sidestepped towards the railings, ignoring Selene's little exclamations of protest and moving right so they were pressed against the black metal. "Go on love." He continued, more quietly this time. "Look."

Carefully, Selene took her head out of his jumper, and swallowed. She peered over the railing, and suddenly jerked backwards, going green. "Oh god." She moaned, closing her eyes. "How many stories up are we?"

Fred shrugged. "Maybe 5." He guessed. "There's an attic as well, apparently, but we can explore that another time. You can see Diagon Alley from here, if you squint."

"I don't think I want to." Selene murmured, her face in his shoulder. "Fred, _I'm scared of heights._"

He pushed her away slightly, and distracted her by pressing his lips to hers. When he pulled away, she looked slightly calmer, but tears replaced her terror.

"How can you do this?" She said, in a small voice. "How? Your father… How can you just… Pretend?"

Fred sighed, and shrugged, pushing his worry away. "I push it away, I guess." He summarised, not wanting to go into detail. "It doesn't-"

"Don't you _dare _say that it doesn't matter!" Selene stepped away, tears sparkling on her face. "It does matter, okay? I'M not the one who's been attacked! You should be worrying about your Dad, not running around on the roof with me like everything's pitch perfect!"

"Well, not everyone can just think about it calmly." Fred said, his fists clenching. "Neither can you, come to think about it."

"This isn't about me." Selene insisted. "I don't matter right now."

"Of course you bloody matter!" Fred exhaled sharply. "A blind man could see how worried you were when Professor McGonagall said that Dad had been attacked. Oh, let me guess, you blame yourself? Just because a psychopath made a mental link with you when you were a baby that is making you ill." He exhaled again, and inhaled deeply. "Look, 'Lene, I love you. I might not be rich, and I certainly will never be society's biggest gentleman, and there is an incredibly strong likelihood that I will screw up everything with you."

Selene looked up at him, forgetting the height of their situation (literally and metaphorically). "You think I care?" She asked, slightly shocked. "You are stupid. In… the extreme. This is not about you and me this is about you. I'm worried; you can't just push everything away until it all falls down on you. You shouldn't be up here with me; you should be with George, okay? Not me."

"Why are we even arguing again?" Fred sighed, sounding defeated. "There is no point arguing with you, you win every single time."

"Um… no I don't." Selene blinked, before shaking her head. "Do you want to go to George? Or should I… um…"

She suddenly became very aware that she was standing not three inches away from the edge of a very tall building, and squeaked under her breath, going green again. Fred noticed and grabbed her again, hugging her tightly to him. "Oh, you'll be fine." He grinned into her hair. "George wanted to stay with Bill tonight, in the kitchen. I don't know why, and Ron and Ginny will be somewhere too."

"Is Charlie coming back from Romania again then?" Selene asked, staying firmly planted to Fred.

"I guess so. Sirius said that Bill sent him a letter." Fred shrugged. "Why do you ask?" He asked nonchalantly.

"No. " Selene said quickly. "Whatever you are thinking, just… no."

Fred chuckled, and slowly sat down on the concrete. "I swear I wasn't." He said, pulling Selene out of his jumper and brushing her hair off her face. "Pranksters honour, I wasn't thinking a thing about that."

"Like I believe that." Selene muttered, shaking her head. "Are you okay, though?"

Fred sighed again, and rested his head on her shoulder. "I hope so." He said faintly. "Okay, I'm worried. But everyone looks to me for comic relief, so I can't be worried for very long."

"Oh, Fred…" Selene closed her eyes.

They sat like that for a while, neither of them moving lest they disturb the peace. Then, quietly, slightly hesitantly, Selene opened her mouth and began to speak.

"I play the viola."

Fred moved his head from her shoulder and looked at Selene in confusion. "You do?" He asked strangely. "That was… a little… unexpected."

"Sorry." Selene coloured, shaking her head. "I just… wanted to tell you. And I just thought of it… then…"

"Can you show me some time then?" Fred asked, smiling as Selene nodded. "Great."

Selene murmured something unintelligibly and looked at the horizon, which was rapidly turning pink.

"Selene?"

"Mmm?"

"What exactly _is _a viola?"

**Well, a shorter chapter this time. Just fewer than 4000 words, but I just wanted to get one up, and I thought the above was a great way to end it.**

**What can I say but please review! **

**Eleanor xxx**


	52. Chapter 51: God Cousin?

**Oh, I'm so sorry!**

**This chapter was a pig to write, honestly. I stopped it at 3000 and something words, otherwise the chapter would be about 10,000 altogether. But I have another reason.**

**You might have noticed, I have story up on my profile. Metamorphosis, its rated M for language and graphic violence, and it's about a Muggle girl called Laney who gets bitten by a werewolf and survives. Please go and read it! And review, pretty please? It's very different to this story.**

**I aslo have a blog now! Yes, search Diary Of The Oddest Fangirl on Blogger, or not. It's a tad weird, but I got 100 views in 5 days so I must be doing something right.**

**Thank you to Dalonega Noquisi - yeah, I think Fred's the kind of guy to play things like that off. **

**BellatrixD, sorry, not as much cuteness in this chapter. It's a really important one though, which is partly why it was such a pig. Probably the hardest to write so far, which is why it's so short. I want them for my birthday too!**

**SunRaven96 – well. This is going to the Final Battle, and post-Final Battle. I need to think up an excuse for Fred to live, I have one in Metamorphosis but that only works for that storyline.**

**StandardOfGrace: Wow, I hate homework too. Over here in the rainy Midlands, we have a homework grading system of 1-8, 11 being absolute poppycock and 8 being outstanding. I normally get 5. Which is good, but not great.**

**Gurl5678-who-is-now-Aria, I have 6 cousins, three of them live in Canada, one in Leeds and 2 literally only an hour or so away from my little town. The Leeds cousin is two in January (Eep! He's so cute!), I think Matthew's nearly 12, like my sister (he's the one an hour or so away) and his older sister Megan's just started sixth form. She's awesome. And technically the 2 year-old and the Canadians are my half cousins, so it's confusing as hell.**

**HT118, I almost did make him propose, but not yet ;). **

**Guest, I have no idea how long it will take. Sorry. But thanks all the same!**

**EmerC, wowzers. I love getting reviews, but yours made me all tingly. I think new reviewers are always the best. I look forward to hearing from you again, and thanks for the feedback on Selene.**

**Please review this chapter!**

* * *

"It's just past 8 and I'm feeling young and reckless, the ribbon on my wrist says, "Do Not Open Before Christmas." - Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued by Fall Out Boy [I love the name of this song. Don't you? Great guitar riffs too.]

* * *

Chapter 51: God Cousin?

"Um… Sirius?" Harry said slowly, peeking around his godfather's door. The man in question sprang up from the newspaper clipping he was examining, and stared at Harry for a few seconds before unfreezing.

"What can I do for you Harry?" Sirius answered jovially, walking forwards and gently pushing them both out of his room. "Anything bad happened?"

Harry grimaced, and nodded. "Um… Mrs Weasley was back this morning." He began to explain. "And somehow Fred made it rain orange juice."

Sirius grinned. "That must have been quite the sight." He smiled, shaking his head. "Why? What happened then?"

"Somehow…" Harry grimaced again. "Somehow Bill cast a freezing charm on the orange juice falling from the ceiling so now Mrs Weasley, George and Ron are trapped behind huge shards of frozen orange-juice, and no one's able to undo the charm because Bill screwed the charm up somehow."

Sirius blinked, and shook his head. "Great." He said, a touch of happiness in his voice. He'd missed having things like this happen at every turn. "We're leaving to see Arthur at half past, aren't we? It's only eleven; plenty of time to sort it all out."

Harry wasn't convinced, but followed his godfather down the stairs, right the way down to the basement kitchen, where there were muffled exclamations of anger and a few swear words coming from the room beyond. Sirius swung the door open, and swore himself.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" Mrs Weasley bellowed. "As soon as you fix whatever has happened here, I'm going to wash your mouth out with soap!"

"Alright." Sirius ignored Mrs Weasley for the moment, and looked at Selene, who was wisely staying out of the way with Ginny while Fred bore the brunt of his mother's anger. "Selene, can you fix this?"

Selene nodded, and everyone else in the room turned to stare at her. "Um…" She went red. "I tried saying so, but none of you paid attention?"

"What's going on?" Tonks hurried in, Remus right behind. She vanished the orange juice shards with a quick wave of her wand. "What was that? Was that orange juice?"

"Fred made it rain orange juice." Selene began to explain quickly, but Remus held up his hand.

"Explain later, it's time we went to St. Mungo's." He cut in, checking his watch.

There was something about hospitals that put Selene on edge. Maybe it was the smell, too much like the residue cleaning charms left behind (that was a paper she had completed for Professor Flitwick in October), or maybe it was just the fact that so many people were in here with no hope of recovery. She unconsciously slipped her hand into Fred's who looked at her for a second, before squeezing her hand gently.

"I don't like them either." He whispered, as the group walked up to the grumpy-looking Welcome Witch. As Mrs Weasley began to speak, George sidled up to Selene.

"Bet you ten sickles I can get that witch to go out with me." He grinned; ignoring the weird look Ginny was giving him. "What do you say, Cheesecake, Forge? Frelene?"

Fred grinned too, and nodded, holding out his free hand to shake on it with his twin. "You're on."

"You'll never be able to." Selene cut in quickly. "Look, she's, what? Two, three years older than us? I doubt you'll even get her name."

As they group began to make their way up the stairs, Fred, George and Selene hung behind a little. George winked at Selene, before striding up to the Welcome Witch, who was now looking through Witch Weekly disinterestedly.

"Snarmy git." Fred muttered, as George began to try to chat the blonde up. "It's obvious to everyone but him that Angelina's obsessed with him, and he's not doing himself any favours by going for every woman that might swing his way."

Selene smiled. "I guess it's a little funny." She admitted. "I can imagine you two chatting up every woman that did swing your way, to be honest."

"I was never as bad as _him_." Fred protested, grinning. "He never had and never will have this handsome face, so he has to try _extra _hard. "

George emerged from the snake's nest a few seconds later, with a triumphant smirk. "Got her name." He grinned. "Hand over the money lugless, the master needs his reward."

"Tell me her name, and then you get the money." Fred insisted, shaking his head like he didn't believe his twin.

"Her name's Verity." George explained, looking incredibly pleased with himself. "She said nothing else, except that she'd a drop-out from Charlie's year, an ex-Gryffindor with a horrendous job."

Fred scowled but handed the money over. Together the three of them made their way to the first floor – Creature-Induced Injuries – where Remus, Tonks and Kingsley were waiting outside.

"Where have you three been?" Remus asked curiously, but the twins shrugged so he guessed that the answer was not important. "Oh, okay. Your Father's just through here."

Selene instinctively went to stand next to her cousin, but Tonks pushed her gently in the direction of the door. "Go on." She said, in a low voice, guessing that Selene wouldn't want attention drawn to her. "Harry's already in there, I'm sure Arthur would like to see you as well."

"But-" Selene began, but Tonks cut her off.

"But what?" She said innocently, raising her voice. "Go on then, you _three_."

With a wink, Tonks turned back to her conversation with Kingsley, and Fred pushed the door to the ward open with a little 'creak'.

"Where have you three been?" Mrs Weasley gushed, running from her husband's bedside to the newcomers. "You've been absolutely ages…"

"Actually, Mum, they've only been three extra minutes." A tall man said, from the chair next to his Dad's bed. Bill grinned, getting up and greeting his brothers and Selene. "Nice to see you all. Fleur says hi, by the way." He grimaced, and flinched. "Well, she did, after she finished yelling."

"Women." Fred, George and Bill chorused.

"Um… excuse me?" Ginny asked, placing her hands on her hips. Selene raised an eyebrow, but Mrs Weasley just turned back to Mr Weasley – acclimatised to her son's behaviour.

"How are you feeling Dad?" George asked eagerly, swallowing at Ginny's murderous expression.

"Better, thanks George." Mr Weasley smiled. "They took my bandages off this morning, the wound's clearing up nicely."

"That's good dear." Mrs Weasley said absently, nodding meaningfully at Bill. "Now, come on you six, the rest of us need to have a little chat."

Without pomp or ceremony, the six of them were unceremoniously bundled out into the corridor, where they were swapped wordlessly for Remus, Tonks and Kingsley.

"That's a bummer." Fred said to the door, after the object in question had swung shut behind Remus.

"Tell me about it." Ginny groaned, flopping down in one of the plastic chairs that one always seemed to find in hospitals.

The smell (or rather residue) of the cleaning spells seemed to be getting to Selene a little now. The stench just got under her skin. "Sorry, I need a bit of air." She said quietly. "I'm not the greatest fan of hospitals."

"I don't think any of us are, to be honest." George admitted, shaking his head and sitting next to his sister. Then he brightened up. "Let's see if St. Mungo's put Impertuable Charms on their doors, shall we?"

Selene shook her head, knowing that for once they should leave well alone. "I'm going outside." She said quietly. "Tell Dora and Mrs Weasley where I am, will you?"

"See you." Harry said quietly, as Selene walked as fast as she could out of the room.

The corridors weren't much better, but at least the smell wasn't so _concentrated _as it was in the ''Dangerous' Dai Lyllewhyn' ward. Selene saw no one she knew (for which she was grateful), but there was a portrait on the wall that tried to convince her that she was actually an Inferius.

"But your skin!" It crowed. "Your skin is pale, and you look sick!"

"I was born with pale skin." Selene sighed, trying to get away from the annoying portrait and not succeeding. "And I _feel _sick, okay?"

"You cannot feel! You are not technically alive, my dear!"

Selene just ignored the wittering voice, and tuned it out eventually, doubling back to lose the painted man as soon as she saw a gap in the market. The Welcome Wing was just as crowded as it had been when she passed through this way before, and the same Welcome Witch was still flicking through Witch Weekly.

The fresh air did help a lot, and Selene somehow blended in quite well with all the Muggles hurrying up and down the busy street, despite the fact that a girl who should be in school was sitting on a park bench opposite a dilapidated and condemned apartment store.

Someone passed by, and Selene's head flickered up. Dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair. "Angelina?" She asked, before she could stop herself.

They looked around, looking at the speaker curiously before slowly shaking their head. "Angelina's my cousin." They explained. "How do you know her? She goes to a big boarding school in Scotland, not anywhere around here."

"Oh, I go to school with her." Selene said quickly. "Um… I'm with my cousin, she's just..." She gestured to a shop. "In there."

The cousin nodded, and doubled back to sit next to Selene. "I think I know who you are." They said, in a low voice. "You're Selene Malfoy, right?"

Selene nodded slowly, as the guy grinned and stuck out his hand. "Alexander Johnson." He greeted, as Selene slowly took his hand. "It's not every day I meet ladies so lovely as yourself, but from what my dear cousin tells me you're taken."

"It's nice to meet you too." Selene managed a little smile. "So, um… where do you go to school?"

Alexander rolled his eyes, and pointed to the logo Selene hadn't noticed before on his hoodie. "London City Comp." He groaned. "It's a bloody nightmare. Don't tell me you're a magic one too."

"Huh?" Selene started. "How do you know about that?"

Alexander scoffed, and waved his hand airily. "I'm a Squib." He said, rolling his eyes for a second time as Selene's eyes widened. "Don't tell me you have all that prejudice, being a Muggle is quite fun. You get the clothes, and the music, and the TV, and a new invention called Atari game consoles…" His eyes glazed over for a moment, until he was jolted back into the present. "Well, when I say Squib, Dad's the Squib." He admitted.

"Oh, okay," Selene nodded. "Angelina's mentioned you, once or twice."

"That's nice." Alexander said absently. "I was a bit worried, when you called me Angelina, because I don't think I look like a girl. Do I look like a girl?"

Selene looked Alexander up and down, and slowly shook her head. Even though she _never _thought of anyone like this except Fred, and she never had done, Alexander was quite good-looking. Very good-looking, in fact. She didn't like thinking like that, so she shook her head faster and dropped her gaze again. "Um… no, you don't."

"Good." Alexander said briskly. "Look…" He dropped his voice. "Don't tell Angelina you saw me, okay? It's just…" He sighed, and ran a hand through his dark hair. "I'm skipping. I never learnt anything of importance in the comp, except how to get in a fight and win, and Angelina wants me to finish school. I've hung out for her."

Selene nodded, looking up again. "What do you want to do?" She asked carefully, feeling a little less shy than she had done. "After school, I mean."

"I want to go to Africa." Alexander admitted. "Go and help the children, give them education and suchlike. A Charity worker, I guess you'd call me."

Selene didn't understand what exactly Alexander was going on about, but she nodded all the same, grasping the essence. "That sounds nice."

Alexander nodded, but he caught a glimpse of his watch and cursed under his breath. "I'm sorry, I have to run." He said apologetically, standing up. "It was nice to meet you, and tell that George that my cousin is really hung up on him and that he needs to get his head out of his arse."

"Sure." Selene laughed at his choice of words. "I do actually need to meet my cousin. It was nice to meet you too Alexander."

"Oh, call me Alex." Alexander chuckled, before turning and disappearing into the crowd like a ghost might float through the walls of Hogwarts, leaving Selene feeling like she had just met a ghost.

When Selene returned, everyone was staring at her. "Um… are you all okay?" She asked hesitantly, meeting Fred's gaze across the room. He shrugged apologetically, and went back to staring at his feet.

Ron grunted non-committedly, and Ginny looked shocked to say the least. Only Fred looked nonchalant. Selene's mind whirred, what had happened in the short time that she had been away to make everyone so wary of her?

"When were you going to tell me?" Harry asked, and Selene blinked.

"Tell you what?" Selene asked, a feeing of dread settling in her stomach. She felt that she had an idea of what was going on, what they had overheard on the Extendable Ears. Why was the Order even worried about that? It didn't make a difference in the long term, or even at all. That matter had been done and dusted fifteen years ago.

Harry looked up, and he looked close to blowing up. Selene swallowed, as she saw the betrayal and sadness in his green eyes. She almost expected to find herself getting dizzy, but that never came. Maybe Voldemort celebrated Christmas?

"What didn't you tell me we were god cousins?" He asked, in a quiet voice that held danger.

"Harry." Selene began, knowing inside that whatever she said wasn't going to help. Luckily, she didn't have to finish the sentence.

"I thought you trusted me." Harry said quietly. "Do you even remember what you said to me after Cedric died? Did you _even mean _a word of it? Or was it all just some pathetic joke?"

"Harry-" Ginny tried to cut in, but Harry had already got into his element.

"TELL ME, HOW MUCH DO YOU KEEP SECRET?" He said, almost yelling. "HOW MUCH? 'IT'S BETTER TO THINK ON THE GOOD THINGS RATHER THAN THE BAD', WAS THAT JUST SOME PUREBLOOD PROPAGANDA? DO YOU SECRETLY THINK YOURSELF ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE? LIKE YOU DID WHEN I FIRST MET YOU?"

Selene reeled backwards, as if struck with a blow, but Harry was by no means finished.

"EVERONE LOVES YOU, YOU'RE THE RAVENCLAW PRINCESS, THE HEAD GIRL, THE GIRL WHO CAN DO NO WRONG!" He was yelling now. "OH, COME ON, EVERYONE'S BLIND! YOU'RE MANIPULATIVE, YOU'RE UNKIND, AND YOU'RE COMPLETELY FAKE! YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN YOUR DEATH EATER FATHER!"

The words whacked everyone in the room around their heads, and Selene swallowed back her tears, looking at the boy she saw as a brother glare at her with as much venom as he could muster. "OH, AND YOU CAN 'IDENTIFY' WITH ME AS WELL!" He added furiously. "JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE A SPOILT-"

"Shut UP!" Selene yelled, above Harry. In a flash, everyone realised just what Harry's words had done to her. Selene, the girl who never raised her voice and settled arguments by apologising, had yelled. Fred, who had been shell-shocked throughout this entire exchange, grabbed Harry's collar and turned The-Boy-Who-Lived to face him.

"If you're clever, you'll shut up this minute." He growled menacingly. "And you'll apologise, and take _everything _back."

Harry tore his collar away from Fred, and turned to face the spot where Selene had been, but all he got was a view of her back, then an echoing thump where the door slammed shut behind her.

Everyone who had been in Mr Weasley's ward had overheard Harry's yells, and subsequently knew that the Ears had been involved somehow, but none of them were brave enough to approach any of them. Harry was with Ron, who was grudgingly staying with his best friend, because none of the others would acknowledge him.

Every time he turned to look at the younger boy, Fred would clench his fists and stare determinedly in the other direction, inwardly wanting to punch the Boy-Who-Lived, but knowing that doing such a thing wouldn't help matters in the slightest. If it wasn't for George intervening, Harry would be half-dead by now, he told himself.

After Selene had left, Fred had got two punches in, until Ginny yelled some sense at him, and now Harry had a splendid black eye all the same. Ginny was sticking to Selene like superglue, glaring at Harry every time he so much as looked towards them both.

"You should apologise, mate." Ron said quietly, dropping back slightly so they couldn't be overheard. Harry glowered at the tarmac of the road, resolutely not answering. "Come on, it would just be easier."

"But why didn't she tell me?" Harry said quietly. "She obviously keeps too many secrets, she might be a Death Eater for all we know!"

Ron rolled his eyes, glancing over to Selene. He chuckled slightly – the idea of Selene being a Death Eater was ridiculous. "Harry, come on." He muttered. "That's stupid."

Harry didn't answer, instead choosing to fixate his gaze on the edge of his trainers. Ron gave up after a few seconds of silence, and mirrored Harry's movements.

"How is Arthur?" Sirius asked eagerly, as they all walked into the hall of Grimmauld Place, but Harry pushed past him and stormed upstairs. "Harry?"

Sirius turned to Selene, who was standing quietly between Fred and Ginny. "He's fine." Tonks cut in quickly, sensing the slightly awkward atmosphere.

"Um… okay…?" Sirius looked around the group carefully, noting Fred's furious expression, Ginny's reluctance and Selene's quietness (even more so than usual). "What happened?"

"Harry." George explained. Fred scowled once more, and Selene tried to keep her expression blank. "Come on Fred, let's go. Selene?"

"Selene's staying with me." Ginny cut in quickly. "Come on Selene, I wanted to show you that thing remember?"

Selene nodded, casting a little glance at Sirius as she passed, and immediately regretted it. He was incredibly confused, and as they met gazes Selene felt as if he could see past her façade of an expression. Snippets of voices drifted up after them, mainly from Tonks and Remus, who were recounting the incident to Sirius.

"So, you're god cousins with Harry then." Ginny said calmly, nodding as her and Selene walked into their room. "Good. He'll come around."

"Did you hear what he said?" Selene cracked, feeling tears start to prick at her eyes. "Am I really that superficial that I act like I'm more important than everyone else? Do I really act unkindly, and I manipulate everyone I see?"

"No." Ginny said stoically. "No. Harry over-reacted, he knows why you didn't tell him deep down."

"Then _why _did he say it Gin?" Selene sighed, flopping backwards on the bed and closing her eyes. "I'm not generally liked at Hogwarts, am I? I'm just the Head Girl who got a lucky break."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "For the love of Godric, Selene, you are liked!" She insisted. "Look, Harry will come around, no one can stay angry with you for long. When you had that argument with Fred, how long did it last? A week? I swear on my broomstick, when you two get married, you two will have the happiest marriage known to Wizardkind."

"If Sirius agrees." Selene said, laughing a little. "He would hate me getting married before I'm at least twenty or so, and Uncle Ted said I have to be twenty-three."

"Screw them!" Ginny jumped up, grinning and laughing. "You two can elope! As long as you let me in on it all, okay?"

Selene's eyes snapped open. "Calm down." She said quickly, to an over-excitable Ginny. "Ginny, _if _that ever happens, I promise you can be a bridesmaid, okay? Just don't get… worked up."

Ginny smirked, flicking her hair out of her face. "Bet you'll be married before Bill."

"No." Selene said simply. "That is very unlikely."

"_Sure it is…_" Ginny said sarcastically. She ducked the pillow that Selene threw at her, watching as it hit the far wall. "You've got a good aim."

"I'm a _Chaser _Ginny." Selene reminded the younger girl with slight exasperation. "I have to have good aim."

**Oh, Harry…**

**Your hormones got the better of you there, I'm afraid. **

**Needed that little argument, it is amazingly important. Trust me.**

**Please review, give Harry some verbal abuse, you know the deal.**

**Eleanor xxx**


	53. Chapter 52: Christmas Ghosts

**Oh, gosh.**

**I'm so sorry! I know, almost a week, blahdy blah blah. Etc. But truly, my excuse would bore you to death. **

**Thank you to Dalonega Noquisi, Gurl5678 (x2…), xSiriusly Insanex (x4!), bassetboy244, Guest, HT188, EmerC, caring16, another Guest and Charlyxx.**

**Right, for the helpful Guest review that I got, that told me that Selene was a little Mary-sue. Well, she is (it's hard to write someone who completely isn't) but she isn't. Yes, she's weak, but that's because she's used to being so. I am trying to make her have more faults, but one of them is that she doesn't really stand up for herself much. More will crop up soon; I really listened to your advice. She does stand up for herself in this chapter, but I had to make her in character, so it might not be what you really wanted. **

**Please review, and look at my new stories as well! Expect new ones soon!**

* * *

"Oh, all the lights are shining, so brightly everywhere." - All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey [Getting in the Christmassy mood, in October!]

* * *

Chapter 52: Ghosts Of Christmas

"HI HERMIONE!" Lily yelled, right into Hermione's ear. "HOW ARE YOU?!"

"I'm fine Lily." Hermione laughed, peeling her woollen hat off her head. Professor McGonagall had told the pair of them the good news that Mr Weasley would pull through the day before, and now the pair of them was eager to get to Grimmauld Place. Hermione was missing Ron, Harry and Selene especially, and Lily wanted to meet Sirius. "Just because I'm wearing a hat doesn't mean I'm deaf."

Lily grinned, and shook her head. "I know that, I'm just excited." She admitted. "Who's meeting us? Do you know?"

"I think Professor McGonagall's taking us to the Knight Bus, and then Kingsley's taking us from there." Hermione guessed, looking at her watch. "There're only a couple of minutes."

"Kingsley?" Lily enquired. "As in the Auror that Dora works with? He's one of them too?"

Hermione laughed again, and nodded. "Moody - the real Moody, I mean - as well."

Lily nodded. She looked around the Entrance Hall, and grinned toothily as Professor McGonagall walked up to the pair of them. "Hey Professor." She said cheerily. "How are you?"

"I'm quite alright thank you Miss Tonks." Professor McGonagall said briskly. "You are both ready, I presume?"

Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but Lily got there first. "Yes!" She said eagerly. "And Hermione is too!"

Professor McGonagall bit back a smile at Lily's excitement. "That's good." She said, in the sternest voice she could, which wasn't very stern. Nymphadora Tonks had been a handful all on her own, but Lily tripled the legacy. She was a massive mixture of her mother's sarcasm and temper, and her father's strangeness.

She sometimes thought that Lily had given her more grey hairs than the Weasley twins had altogether. Quite the impressive feat. It was a marvel how Andromeda managed to stay sane at all, let alone sane and keep the Black attribute of aging like a very expensive cheese – very well.

And now Liliana Tonks was about to meet her previously estranged cousin, and they would probably get along like a house on fire, maybe even actually setting the house _literally _on fire.

Professor McGonagall severely hoped that they wouldn't _actually _set the house on fire, as that would be a hassle to explain to the Muggle authorities and leave the Order without a meeting place.

Making a mental note to remind Kingsley to keep an eye on Lily and Sirius, Professor McGonagall nodded briskly, taking Hermione and Lily's trunks and shrinking them with a simple wave of her wand. "I'll see you to the gates." She said, setting off at a pace that made both girls run to catch up.

The three of them walked in silence to the gates, Lily waving at a few of her friends, but not doing much else, having said goodbye to them the night before. "Decided what you're getting Ron and Harry then 'Mione?" Lily asked, after a little while, waving to a cheery Hagrid.

"Homework diaries." Hermione said decisively. "Got them last week, in fact. OWLs are coming up, you know."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well _I _got Harry a book on _'101 Ways To Annoy Teachers'_." She envisioned, grinning like a lunatic. "Beautiful piece of literature. Great tips, I hope he'll use it against Umbitch."

Professor McGonagall choked slightly when she heard the nickname for her colleague up close and personally, but otherwise didn't say anything. If she was being honest it suited Dolores rather well.

"You shouldn't encourage him." Hermione scolded gently. "My present will greatly help the pair of them, especially Ronald. He leaves his until the last minute."

"Well, what did you get Selene then?" Lily asked, crossing her arms somewhat childishly. "I bet my present is better than yours."

"Lily, wait and see." Hermione said wisely, biting back a little smile. "I'm sure mine will be better than yours."

"Don't be childish." Lily said, in a tone that mimicked that of her mother. "I think Mum and Dad are coming over for Christmas Day, as Sellie's spending Christmas Eve down at our end."

Hermione said nothing, although she wanted to retort with something. You could _never _win with Liliana Tonks, she reminded herself. It would take a great man or woman to beat her in a pissing contest, or any other type of contest.

"Okay." She compromised on, sighing with relief when Lily shut up. Hermione didn't think that she could cope with the full-on Lily for much longer, and now she was facing a whole holiday in the same room as the girl.

Thank the Holy Hippogriffs for her knitting.

* * *

"MUDBLOODS! VILE BY-PRODUCTS OF DIRT AND SCUM, THE CANKER OF OUR TREE ROTTING AWAY THE PUREST HOUSE OF BLACK-"

"Shut IT!" Sirius yelled, slamming the curtains shut with the help of Remus. "Tonks, was that you?"

"Sorry!" Tonks yelled up the stairs. "I miscalculated the gap between that bloody hat stand and me again! And then the front door opened onto me!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, smiling inwardly. He _had _missed everything, even this. Sure, it was fun with just him, Remus and Tonks, but only the 'kids' made the house seem light again. Hopefully Albus would be true to his word and get him a trial, and then get him freed and pardoned. Then he could get out of this miserable hole.

"You're such a klutz Dora." A new, younger voice said, and Remus winced. He certainly remembered _that _voice. After all, the owner had once knocked him clean over (he never actually found out why and how that happened). "Nice place."

"_Lily_." Hermione chastised, and Remus could hear her rolling her eyes from where they were standing. "We've been working very hard to get this place cleaned up, you know."

"Yeah, it's still a gloomy hovel though." Lily groaned, and Sirius chuckled.

"That's my cousin, I take it?" He asked, smirking when Remus nodded cautiously. "She seems like a laugh. Mind if I…?"

Remus tried to protest, but Sirius was already out of his reach. "Hello!" Sirius greeted, his voice booming through the house, and Remus reached for the curtains out of habit. "Do I hear one Liliana Tonks?"

"DON'T CALL ME LILIANA!" Lily yelled, looking rather pleased with herself as Remus had to forcefully hold the curtains closed. She turned to Sirius with a grin on her face, and extended her hand almost innocently. "Yes, I'm Lily Tonks. My sister goes by Tonks, I go by Lily. One 'L'. I take it you are my escaped-criminal-who's-actually-innocent cousin, Sirius Black?"

Sirius took Lily's hand, somewhat stupidly. He jumped backwards when he touched her hand, like he'd been jolted, and in unison, he and his younger cousin burst into helpless peals of laughter.

"What's the matter?" Mrs Weasley asked, coming running from the kitchen. "I heard shouting, and laughter… Oh, Lily! It's nice to see you dear!"

Lily nodded at Mrs Weasley, before submerging into giggles again. "I have a new apprentice Remus!" Sirius called.

Remus face palmed.

* * *

Harry stuck his head around the door to the drawing room, and swallowed. Hermione gave him a little push, which made the door creak.

Everyone turned to stare at the doorway, Fred standing up when he saw whom it was. Ever since going to see Mr Weasley, Harry had been subject to a kind of boycott from the others, except the adults, who were determined not to take a side.

"You've-" Fred began, but Selene pushed him back down. "Oi, come o-"

"_Silencio_." Selene said quickly, waving her wand at her boyfriend, leaving him gulping like a goldfish. She walked up to Harry with a slightly pale face, and then squared her shoulders.

"Look, Sel-" Harry began, but Selene cut him off with a swift silencing charm too

"Harry, I understand what you're going through." She said, pushing past the almost insurmountable tension in the room. "And I totally understand why you yelled at me, but don't you think _comparing me to my father _is a little too far?"

Harry opened his mouth to say that he did, but then he remembered the silencing charm and swallowed. "Look." Selene continued, turning around momentarily to glare at George, who was silently communicating to his twin. "You _know _I hate saying things like this, but what you said…"

"You shouldn't have walked out, then-" Ginny began to supplement, but shrank backwards when Selene glared at her too.

"Yeah, what she said." Selene admitted, running a hand through her loose hair. "But okay. Harry, I'm sick of being _walked over_." She directed this comment at Fred, who shrugged, still looking put out. "So… um, that's it."

"Well that was anti-climatic." George cut in, standing up and stretching. With the merest flick of his wand, he undid the silencing charm that was affecting George, and Hermione wordlessly helped Harry. "Now that's over and done with, what were we discussing?"

"Something about Sirius's idea." Ginny piped up, grinning at Harry. "I still think we should bowl for it."

Harry pulled Selene out of the firing range of the rest of the group before any of them could protest. "Selene, I'm sorry." He finally finished. "You're right, I was out of order."

"It's fine." Selene said quickly, reaching a hand out to carefully brush her fingers against the nasty coloured bruise on Harry's cheek. He flinched, but didn't flinch away. "Give me a second."

She ducked out of the room, and then reappeared a few moments later holding a tub of what looked like strange yellow paste in the palm of her hand. "Oh, it's just Bruise Paste." She said, in answer to Harry's curious glance. "Fred and George decided (rather foolishly) to produce Punching Telescopes a couple of weeks ago, and they needed a fast-working serum for it, or they'd be walking around with at least two black eyes all the time."

"Mrs Weasley already helped it." Harry protested. "It'll just take a few days to heal, that's what she said."

"I did the research for this, I think it should work." Selene bit her lip, and then passed the tub to Harry. "Um, you do it."

Harry looked for the little tub, to Selene, back to the tub, and then back to Selene. "You?" He said hoarsely. "With all of your NEWT work, and your tutoring, you developed _this_?"

Selene went rather pink, but nodded. "Go on." She said quickly, before she could get too awkward. "I'm sorry too Harry, but I assumed Sirius had told you, and I haven't really talked about Uncle Reg to anyone in years."

"It's fine!" Harry blurted. "It's fine, really, it's fine. It's understandable, seriously. At least now we're even. Unless you're secretly my sister."

Selene laughed and shook her head. "I'm not." She determined. "But I think I'm fine as I am _Harold_."

"It's Harry, _Whatever_." Harry retorted.

"OI!" Fred yelled, and Selene jumped. "You two just going to stand there and gossip all day? Lily has the best ideas!"

Lily flicked her hair back and smirked widely. "Right." She said, in a stage whisper, as Harry and Selene took seats among the group. "I had this idea, all I need is a large shipping order of Muggle Santa Hats and Christmas Ties."

"Sorted." The twins grinned, high-fiving each other.

"Great." Lily leaned backwards and tented her fingers somewhat pensively. "I think the Order need to loosen up a bit, am I right? What better way then a shipment of Firewhiskey, and a mixture of absurdness and craziness on Christmas Eve?"

Selene looked at Lily strangely. "We're not here for Christmas Eve, remember Lily?" She reminded her cousin.

"Where are you then?" Fred asked curiously, snaking an arm around Selene's waist.

"Oh, with Uncle Ted and Aunty Andy." Selene explained quickly. "They invited me over in September, and I think Uncle Ted wants to take us to see the Muggle Christmas Lights in the Town Centre!" She said eagerly.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you're just as bad as Dad." He complained. "What is it with Muggles and you, really?"

Hermione elbowed him. "Honestly Ronald." She groaned. "I think it's lovely that Selene's interested in Muggle culture."

Selene blushed, and then turned a cherry red colour when Fred pressed his lips to her cheek in a long, lingering kiss. "It's very interesting!" She said, in quite a high-pitched voice. Fred smirked triumphantly, but otherwise didn't do anything. "I wish I'd done Muggle Studies, but I doubt my parents would have liked that at all."

The group shared looks at large. That was the first time that Selene had willingly talked about her parents without stumbling over her words or trying to avoid the subject altogether. Hermione broke the silence by smiling and reaching across to squeeze her friend's hand. "I'm sure Professor Burbage would have liked to teach you Selene." She said, encouragingly. "We did a whole module on how Muggles live without magic in Third Year, and Fay said that I would have done film and TV culture if I'd kept it up."

"How _do _Muggles live without magic?" Selene asked eagerly, but George elbowed her in the side to shut her up.

* * *

Before you could really tell it, Christmas Eve was upon them, and it was snowing thickly outside, despite the sun of only a week previous. They had been to see Mr Weasley a few times since Hermione and Lily came, but the twins had always sneaked off mysteriously during the visits. Even Selene wasn't sure where they went, but she didn't find herself immediately wanting to know.

Not yet, anyway.

Lily had let Sirius in on the secret about the Santa hats and Christmas ties, and he had agreed to help them out. Sirius loved Lily, although he understood that he definitely couldn't be as protective with her as he was with Selene. Whereas Selene grinned and bared it, Lily would probably just try to murder him. Maybe Lily could be a Miniature Marauder, like James had once wanted Harry to be?

Mrs Weasley had roped Selene, Hermione and Ginny in to help with cooking for the Christmas dinner, which apparently needed to be started two days before that actual date. This included keeping Dora away from the food at all times, as she was either going to burn it or drop it, and keep the twins, Sirius and Lily out of the kitchen altogether.

"Selene, dear, could you go and check on the twins please?" Mrs Weasley asked Selene wearily. "Its just there hasn't been much noise from their room for a while, I think they might be up to something."

Selene nodded. "Sure Mrs Weasley." She said politely, untying the apron that she had on and hanging it on the back of one of the old kitchen chairs.

"How many times have I told you?" Mrs Weasley laughed, turning away from the roast potatoes and smothering Selene in a hug. "Call me Molly dear. How many times do I have to ask you?"

"More than that Mrs Weasley." Selene laughed too, as Mrs Weasley let her go. "I'll be back soon Mrs- Molly."

Mrs Weasley was right; Grimmauld Place was uncommonly quiet, especially for this time of day. Granted, Dora was at Uncle Ted's and Aunty Andy's, waiting for Remus to drop Lily and Selene off after lunch, and Kreacher had retired to his boiler room to have some quality time with his Black Family Heirlooms, and Sirius was probably off with Buckbeak or Remus, but still. Any house that included Lily, Sirius and the Weasley twins should be much louder than this silence.

"Hello?" Selene called, half-expecting Fred to leap out and tackle her to the ground. "Fred? Lily? George?"

She craned her head up to the floor where the twins' room was, but there was still only silence. With a crack, Selene apparated to the floor she was previously looking at, and heard a door slam shut at the end of the corridor.

"Fred?" Selene called again, raising her voice. "Your Mum was wondering what you two were up to, that's all."

She didn't get a verbal response, but there was a slight creaking. Then, Selene was submerged in blackness.

She vaguely remembered trying to find the light, but then felt someone grab onto her arm and apparate them back downstairs, leaving the blackness behind.

"Sorry about that." George said, grinning broadly. "Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, we got our first shipment last night."

"Wow." Selene said, still a little discombobulated. "Please, try not to test that out on me again, I thought Fred was still opposed to everything of that kind anyway?"

George shrugged, in a way that made him seem all the guiltier. "Well, desperate times call for desperate measures!" He said cryptically, smiling broadly. "No other alternative, not this time. Just tell Mum we're showing Sirius some of our ideas for Umbridge, okay?"

"What are you actually doing?" Selene said curiously, peering around George like the answer might be behind him.

"Don't worry, my dear Cheesecake!" George said brightly. He turned on the spit and disapparated, leaving Selene even more confused than she had been to begin with.

"What are they up to dear?" Mrs Weasley asked, as Selene re-entered the kitchen.

Selene sighed, picking up her apron and re-tying it around her waist. "I'm sorry, they weren't telling me." She admitted rather sheepishly. "They didn't want me to know, whatever it was."

Ginny giggled somewhat nervously, and Selene blinked owlishly, before shaking her head and turning back to the carrots she had been peeling, with the help of some cooking spells that Mrs Weasley had taught her. "Oh, that's okay dear." Mrs Weasley insisted. "They can't be doing anything _too _dangerous."

Remembering the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, Selene didn't have any faith in Mrs Weasley's statement.

* * *

The house that belonged to Selene's Aunty Andy and Uncle Ted was exactly the same as when she had visited before, except for the snow covered roof and garden and the Muggle fairy lights adorning the roof. Selene couldn't help it; she gaped openly, looking across the street to where a Muggle family had put an inflatable Santa in their front garden.

Remus chuckled, looking around in something akin to awe himself. "I know." He said simply. "The Muggles love to put on a show for Christmas, I remember my mother always had an inflatable Santa too."

His voice trailed off, and Selene bit her lip. "Um…" She began, not knowing how to approach the subject. "Remus?"

"Hmmm?" Remus murmured, taking his gaze off the inflatable Santa and smiling. "What is it?"

"Your parents…" Selene said quietly, flicking her eyes towards the inflatable Santa. "Are they…?"

Remus nodded, then held up one finger. "My mother died during the first War." He said sadly. "She was called Hope Lupin, she was a Muggle. My Dad met her when he defeated a Boggart for her. Dad's alive." He added, his voice a little brighter. "He's almost seventy now, although he doesn't like to admit it. I'm spending Christmas Day with him."

Selene smiled, and closed her eyes for the fraction of a second. "Um… Remus?" She said hesitantly. "Could you tell him Merry Christmas? From an admirer, I've heard and read so much about his time with Experimental Charms."

Remus blinked, but then he smiled and nodded. "I'll make sure to tell him so." He ascertained. "Now, Lily, Selene, we'd better get you two inside. These are dangerous times to be outside too long. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

Lily saluted him, then ran towards the house, yelling: "YES SIR!" behind her.

"Lily-flower!" Uncle Ted called, as Lily ran into him. "Oi, careful there, try not to assault my pudgy-ness. Where's my favourite niece?"

Selene smiled, tingling at the nickname her uncle had given her at the end of her last visit. "I'm here Uncle Ted." She said, walking closer as Lily let go of her father. "Um, do you remember Remus Lupin?"

Ted nodded, looking a little wary but largely keeping it under wraps. "Yes." He said, walking forward and shaking Remus's hand. "I need to apologise Remus, Andromeda and me shouldn't have been so quick-"

"It's okay." Remus insisted, dropping her uncle's hand quite quickly. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Molly will kill me if I take more than a few minutes about this."

"Okay." Ted nodded at Remus, not sounding wholly upset, and turned back to Selene. "Hello there Sellie."

Selene rolled her eyes at the nickname birthed by Dora, but used by pretty much everyone now. "Hello Uncle Ted, Merry Christmas."

Ted ruffled her hair, and pushed Selene and Lily into the inviting entrance of their home. "Andromeda?" He called.

"Oh, hello Liliana!" Andromeda greeted gently, hugging her youngest daughter. Selene was vaguely reminded of her mother, but only in the loosest possible fashion. They carried themselves in a similar way, never slouched, and always seemed graceful.

Lily scowled at the use of her full name, but returned the sentiment to her mother, who then let her go and turned to Selene. "It's lovely to see you again Selene." Andromeda said kindly, scooping Selene into a hug that was almost the opposite of Mrs Weasley's, warm and loving as well but less smothering. "Do you like the fairy lights? Ted almost broke his back trying to put them up."

"Urgh." Ted groaned, rubbing his back, making Lily laugh. "You're the one who wanted them Dromeda, I just submitted after the first ten minutes of arguing."

"Mum, Dad." Dora appeared in the hall, looking exasperated. "_I _wanted the fairy lights, and you two did too, remember? Seriously, I don't understand."

She turned to walk into the living room, and walked into the wall right behind herself. "OW!" She exclaimed, rubbing her leg and scowling at the offending wall. "Who put that wall there?"

Andromeda rolled her eyes fondly, and beckoned Selene and Lily into the living room.

It was the stuff of her wildest dreams for Selene. It was like all of those quaint Muggle postcards in the Hogwarts Library catalogues, except without all the sculptures of the sheep and babies. There was a WWN wireless in the corner, quietly playing a little Celestina Warbeck. But that wasn't what captured Selene's true attention; it was the seemingly huge tree right in the middle of the living room, with massive piles of presents underneath its lower branches.

"Never seen a Christmas tree before?" Aunty Andy didn't seem surprised, and Selene had just opened her mouth to ask when she realised that her Aunt had grown up in the same sterile environment as she had, with no 'Muggle' celebrations and decorations.

Selene nodded silently, gawping around at the tree, and the presents, and the paper chains. Dora chuckled from the corner armchair, her hair a festive red and green colour for the occasion. "That boyfriend of yours is still treating you right?" Ted cut in, flopping down in the armchair next to his eldest daughter, grabbing one of the massive amounts of Christmas hats and pulling it down over his balding head.

"Of course he is." Selene said, sitting down next to Lily on the sofa. "You're going to meet him tomorrow though, aren't you?"

Ted waved his hand airily. "Just finding out whether he needs a bit of a push." He said nonchalantly, grabbing a nearby wine glass and pouring wine from his wand into it. Andromeda made a grab for the glass, but Ted held it out of her reach.

"Nah, Dromeda, this one's mine." He said, before realising that he was no longer holding the wine glass anyway. "Oi, Dora!"

"What Dad?" Dora asked nonchalantly, running her finger along the rim of the now empty wine glass, making a high-pitched 'singing' noise. "Mum's right, the wine doesn't help your figure."

Ted stuck his tongue out at his daughter, and poured some more wine into the glass from the end of his wand. "Dromeda, why must we listen to this rubbish?" He complained, pointing at the wireless.

"_I _happen to like it." Aunty Andy said slightly snootily, but Selene detected the irony in her voice. "Oh, okay then. Selene, I suppose you've never heard Muggle Christmas music, have you?"

"Oh, it's amazing!" Lily cut in eagerly, before Selene could say a single word. "You have the one by that band that sounds like the thing Santa pulls but-"

Andromeda shot her a look, and Lily quietened. "No, I haven't." Selene said slowly, realising that her uncle had disappeared. "Sorry, but what exactly is-"

"Here we are!" Ted said loudly, tripping into the room, sending his gigantic pile of Muggle CDs everywhere. "Ooops."

The room burst into laughter, and Lily dropped the few CDs that she had managed to catch. "Seriously!" She said, her voice rising above her sisters, her mothers and Selene's laughter. "You _trip _into a room, and all you can say is 'oops'?"

Ted grumbled, and Andromeda rolled her eyes. Dora took the CDs from her Dad, and pushed one into the Muggle CD Player that Selene vaguely realised from a diagram in a book she had once read. Lily smirked as the song began, and pulled her sister up, ignoring her many protests, to dance with her.

And Selene looked around; hardly daring to believe that this was what she was a part of now. And that, all the years that she'd been shut up in a large, cold Manor house at the most magical time of the year, some of her closest family members were living _this _life.

Selene looked around, and pinched herself.

It wasn't a dream.

**So…**

**What do you think the twins are up to?**

**Does Ginny know?**

**Why was Mrs Weasley so distracted?**

**Why does Ted not shut up about Fred? **

**What do you think about Selene standing up for herself?**

**Look forward for more Christmassy fluff when I next update (which might be a while… my sister's birthday's on Sunday, and then I have other stuff on top of that).**

**Eleanor xxx**


	54. Chapter 53: Weasley Jumpers

**Thank you to The souless ones, Dalonega Noquisi, Guest #1 (never really thought about that, really. And don't worry, you weren't rude.), Guest #2, caring 16, MArineAstriella, MamaNanaJane63, UlimateFangurl1 and HT188. **

**I'm keeping quite on this chapter. But you'll all love it. Take that, as you will.**

* * *

"And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat, I tried to find the sound, but then it stopped, and I was in the darkness, so darkness I became." - Cosmic Love by Florence + The Machine

* * *

Chapter 53: Weasley Jumpers

"Selene!" Ginny called, rushing over to Selene's bed and jumping to sit next to her. "Merry Christmas!"

Selene laughed, feeling more light and carefree than she had in possibly years, and hugged Ginny tightly. "Merry Christmas too."

"GROUP HUG!" Lily yelled, dive-bombing Selene and Ginny, tugging Hermione along with her. She miscalculated her mad leap, which sent the four of them, plus Selene's covers, spiralling onto the floor.

"Merry Christmas too, you three." Hermione giggled, picking herself up off the floor and helping Ginny and Selene up themselves. "Lily, maybe next time, don't be quite so…"

"Violent?" Lily suggested, with a mad grin.

"NO!" Selene yelled unexpectedly, remembering just how affected Lily had been by the one glass of wine yesterday and hoping that the after-affects hadn't subsided into this morning as well. "Lily, come on, um…"

"Presents!" Ginny called, as a distraction for a plotting Lily, who was only the merest of steps away from becoming a mad, moustache-twirling Muggle-movie style evil villain. The younger girl raced over towards the extensive pile at the foot of her bed, leaving Hermione and Selene blinking in her wake.

"Presents!" Lily repeated, sounding just as hyped as Ginny, doing another mad leap towards her pile.

Selene gave Hermione a hug, then brushed her hair out of her face and smiled. "You're going to say hello to Ron and Harry?" Selene guessed, watching Hermione walk towards the door.

"Yeah." Hermione explained, cracking open the door. "I won't be long, they're probably still asleep anyway. I got them Homework Diaries."

"AWESOME!" Lily called, from over in the corner, tucking into a box of Chocolate Frogs.

Hermione muttered something about Ron and food before leaving, and Selene giggled behind her hand before turning to her pile of presents.

It was much, much larger than she had ever hoped it could be, and Ginny practically threw a present at Selene. "This one first!" She exclaimed, waiting expectantly.

Selene dug her fingernails under the Spellotape fastening the wrapping paper up, and peeled it off with a slight ripping sound. A slip of parchment fell out, and Selene turned it over to read what was written on it.

_Dear Selene,_

_ Christmas is a time that we all must be grateful for, gratefulness for our families and gratefulness for our friends. I know that you must be grateful for so many things in your life dear, and I would like you to know just how grateful we are of you._

_ I must admit, when George did write to me telling me how Fred had finally decided to settle down and get a steady girlfriend (he didn't put it quite so eloquently) I was initially dubious. Arthur and I were often regaled with many tales of how 'girls were stupid' when Fred first started Hogwarts, and then his refusal to keep anyone for more than a month after that._

_ If I am to be brutally honest, I was also worried when George told me your name. Those worries and fears have been changed and warped since, but back then I thought of you as a miniature of your mother. I remember your mother vaguely from when I was in school, only as a small first-year when I was a seventh-year. _

_ But those worries aside, I have a great deal to be grateful for this year. Firstly, for the circumstances that have kept my family alive and healthy, and have granted me my wish of Arthur's safe recovery. _

_ Secondly for Harry, and his refusal to back down after the horrors of last year. That boy does more than I had ever realised, and I can barely picture him as the shy young boy that asked for help to get onto Platform 9 and ¾ the first day of his and Ron's first year._

_ Thirdly for Hermione, a great friend for Ron, Harry and Ginny. I have been unfair to her in the past, and I know that she is an amazing witch and is, truly, the brightest witch of her age._

_ And for you. Selene, you put yourself down so much, but you are amazing in lots of simple ways. I have known you for less than six months, and I love you like my own daughter. Ginny admires you tremendously, and I know that Fred has met someone that is truly right for him, and that is something that Arthur and I have previously been afraid would never happen._

_ What I am trying to say that you are always welcome with us Selene. The war is taking a great toll on us all, and I can tell that you will want to fight alongside my sons and the rest of the Order. I can't do anything to dissuade you dear, although I would like you to bear in mind the dangers, and the great risk you will be putting yourself in._

_ As the year draws to a close, I can't help but wonder what will be left of our world next year, and the years after that. A mother worries for her children, as I know your mother is doing as I write these words in the small hours of the morning, and as such I worry for you as well Selene. We worry so no one else has to, I worry for Bill, and Charlie, and Percy especially. _

_ I am grateful for life, and I am grateful for my family, which includes you, Hermione and Harry as well._

_ With love,_

_ Arthur and Molly Weasley_

Selene swallowed, and felt a tear drip down her cheek. She placed the letter carefully to one side, and pulled the last of the wrapping paper apart. Taking a sharp intake of breath, Selene pulled out what was inside.

The letter slowly began to make perfect sense, as Ginny grinned and pulled her own Weasley sweater over her head. Ginny's was red and gold, just as Fred and George's always were, with a shiny gold 'G' on the front. "Put it on!" She pressed, gathering the wrapping paper up and grinning broadly. "I think the twins are right, Mum makes the best sweaters for people who aren't family."

Selene looked up at Ginny, who was assimilating her 'get-on-with-it' pose, and pulled the Weasley jumper on the same way as Ginny had. Hers wasn't red and gold (quite appropriately, as she wasn't a Gryffindor), but a deep-sea blue colour with a light green 'S'. Ginny nodded approvingly, and reached over to give Selene another hug.

"Don't just stand there!" She protested, gesturing to the rest of Selene's presents. "Get a move on, or it'll be next year before you finish."

Laughing through her tears, Selene wiped furiously at her eyes and grabbed the nearest present in reach; that said that it was from Hermione.

"Another Homework Diary?" Ginny queried, holding up an identical diary. "I think Hermione's got a theme this year, don't you?"

Lily tried to say something, but as her mouth was full of chocolate frog, it only came out as a muffled protesting noise. "Swallow first." Ginny imitated her mother, and Selene giggled.

"Oh, look!" Hermione gushed, coming into the room at that moment and pointing at Selene. "You've got a Weasley jumper!"

"I know." Selene admitted, looking down at herself in slight fascination. Ginny presented Hermione with another, slightly squishy package. Instead of reading the letter first, like Selene did, Hermione folded it up and pulled her own sweater over her head.

Hermione's was a pastel-blue colour, with a scarlet 'H'. "We could be sisters!" Ginny gushed, ignoring the fact that, although Selene and Hermione looked slightly similar to one another, Ginny was very different. "Oh, Lily…"

Lily grinned, holding up a slightly lumpy jumper made out of rainbow-coloured wool. "Dora took up knitting!" She explained. "She got lessons from Mrs Weasley, apparently."

"Thanks for the diary Hermione." Selene thanked Hermione, who went rather pink. "It'll be really helpful-"

She was cut off by Ginny, who was experimentally opening her diary, which shouted 'A SPELL IN TIME SAVES NINE!'. Ginny slammed it shut almost immediately, and Hermione smiled.

"It has helpful additions like that." Hermione explained, in answer to Ginny, Selene and Lily's curious looks. "Harry and Ron have one too."

"Did you get one for Fred and George as well?" Ginny rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what would happen is she did.

"No!" Hermione said hotly. "I got them some Muggle tricks, like buzzers-" Lily smirked, before quickly pressing another chocolate frog in her mouth. "-and fake blood, things like that."

Ginny blanched. "Do you know how bad that will turn out?" She asked Hermione, who shrugged. "Oh, Hermione…"

"BACON!" Someone yelled from the top floor, and the four girls exchanged glances, before Lily disappeared with a 'crack'.

"What?" Hermione asked, blinking at the place where Lily had disappeared. "Lily… but, I thought…"

Lily reappeared, in peals of laughter. "Oh…" She gasped, shaking her head. "You _actually _thought that I'd apparated, didn't you?"

Before anyone could say anything else, she ran out of the room, yelling a strange war cry that seemed to consist entirely of the word 'BACON'.

* * *

"Thank you Mrs Weasley." Selene said quietly, hugging the older woman tightly. Tears began to prick at her eyes again, but she pushed them away. "It… It…"

"I know dear." Mrs Weasley whispered, squeezing Selene before letting go. "You look lovely in that colour, it really brings out your eyes."

"Merry Christmas love." Fred said, seizing Selene around the waist and spinning her around to face him. "Like the jumper."

Selene blushed, but laughed to disguise it and leaned up to kiss him, to most people's displeasure, but Mrs Weasley, Hermione, Ginny and Andromeda all smiled, Hermione and Ginny sharing a look. "Keep the PDA down." Sirius groaned, who looked like hell. There was a Santa hat affixed to his head, and a Christmas tie tied around his neck.

"Vetoed by me as well." Ted added, glaring at Fred with as much venom as he could muster, which wasn't much at all. Lily dissolved into more helpless laughter at the look on Fred's face at being threatened by a guy that was perhaps twice his size, Dora joining in after a few more moments.

"Christmas." Ginny coughed, ignoring George's glare. "What?" She asked innocently, smiling at Selene as she took a seat between Fred and Dora. "Um… Mum?"

Mrs Weasley looked up from the bacon, and nodded, sending a spell at the frying pan and coming to stand at the head of the table. "I know Arthur would like to be here… but…"

She didn't finish the sentence, and Sirius nodded encouragingly. "Anyway." Mrs Weasley said brightly, all sorrow gone from her voice. "Harry, Hermione, Selene." She said, sending a smile at each person as she said their name. "We've discussed this for a long, long time. And all of us agree…" She paused, and gestured to herself, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny. "That this is the right thing to do."

Mrs Weasley exhaled, and walked over to the stovetop, picking up three long shaped presents that were lying just to one side. Selene looked around at Fred, who gave her a grin and absent-mindedly slipped one arm around her waist. As Mrs Weasley brought the three parcels over, she noticed that one of the parcels was bright emerald green, the same shade in fact as Harry's jumper, one of them was dark blue, like her own, and the third was pastel-blue, just like Hermione's jumper.

"Go on, open them!" Mrs Weasley prompted, smiling and passing them each the coloured parcel that corresponded to the colour of their jumpers. "George, feet-"

George rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. Finally Hermione took the initiative and tore the paper apart, Harry and Selene following just after the loud ripping noise cut through the air. "What?" Harry said slowly, peeling the last of the Spellotape off the package.

The letter Selene had got with her jumper started to make sense now. One glance at Harry and Hermione told her all she needed to know – that they had the same type of letters as she had, and it made sense to them now to boot. After a little elbow in the side from her boyfriend, Selene picked up the small strip of bronze-coloured metal between two fingers, and carefully laid it in the palm of her hand. Hermione did the same, then Harry. "Oh…" She whispered, her mind flicking back to the Burrow's kitchen, and the clock she had been so amazed by on the wall.

It was quite clearly a clock hand, but it shimmered with a kind of glow that you wouldn't find on a standard hand. Also, her name was written, prettily but clearly on it. Not 'Selene Malfoy' though, just 'Selene'. She looked quickly across to see Hermione's silver one, with 'Hermione Granger' written on it, and Harry's gold, with 'Harry Potter'. "Oh…" Hermione echoed, as it set in with her exactly what was the meaning of this gift. "Mrs Weasley… um… thank…"

"Oh, it's quite alright." Mrs Weasley said breezily. Selene couldn't really care anymore, she handed the clock hand to Fred, who took it without question, stood up and hugged the older witch, trying to put as many unspoken feelings into it as she could. After a moment, Hermione did the same, and Harry just sat there, staring at the clock hand like it might disappear if given the chance.

As Selene sat back down, Fred handed the hand back to her, moving his lips to her ear momentarily. "There's room for a surname too." He said quietly, before pulling back and grinning at her like he hadn't said a single word.

Although Selene managed to keep her blushing down, George smirked at the two of them knowingly, before mockingly raising his goblet of pumpkin juice towards the pair of them.

He wasn't smirking when Fred transfigured his goblet into a spider.

* * *

The Welcome Wing of St. Mungo's seemed even more crowded than usual, if such a thing could be possible. There was a wizard with a Satsuma jammed up his left nostril (Selene had to forcefully pull George away from the poor man), a woman who was speaking entirely in rhyme (Fred grinned at this and stroked an imaginary beard thoughtfully) and another wizard who was dancing about like a thousand tiny little ants were biting his toes.

Verity the Welcome Witch seemed even more irate than usual – probably due to having to work on Christmas Day – so Mrs Weasley and the rest of them squeezed past the line, George giving Verity a wink as he passed. Selene looked back a couple of moments later to see her slightly pink, but just as stony-faced as ever.

"I think you have a looker there." Fred joked, as the three of them climbed the numerous stairs needed to get to the floor they needed.

"Don't you dare." Selene murmured, a mental picture of Angelina appearing in her mind.

"Yes I do." Fred said simply, before shrugging and holding her hand. "I dare at everything, didn't you know that by now?"

Selene chose not to comment. "Ah, Harry, Hermione, Selene!" Mr Weasley greeted, as the three in question walked into his ward. "How are you three, yes, hello Fred, George."

"Thank you Mr Weasley." Harry began, but Mr Weasley waved his hand before he could get further.

"No need to thank us." He said warmly. "We were going to wait until now, but Ginny said she couldn't wait longer than breakfast."

Ginny grinned, beaming when Selene, Hermione and Harry turned to look at her. "You're really part of the family now!" She said cheerily, sending a meaningful but short look to Selene. "Mum'll put them in when she gets home."

As the conversation drifted to different topics, Fred and George pulled Selene to one side. "What do you think about-"

"Seeing something no one but us and Lee have?" George finished, moving one eyebrow up and down a few times for added effect.

"What do you mean?" Selene said carefully, looking from one twin to the other quickly, sensing that they were definitely up to something. "Fred, George, what do you mean?"

Fred glanced at his mother, making sure that she was safely engaged in conversation with their father before continuing. "Well." He continued. "We've been a bit-"

"-Sneaky, you see." George added. "In short, we've-"

"Bought a premises." Fred completed, looking directly at Selene to wait for the result of this information.

Her expressions cycling through confusion, to annoyance, and finally to realisation, Selene eventually smiled. "Well done!" She said, somewhat weakly. "Um… congratulations! What was it, Hogsmede or Diagon Alley?"

"Diagon Alley." The twins chorused.

"That's where we've been sneaking off to." George explained, opening his mouth to say something else but being silenced by his mother.

"MUGGLE TREATMENTS?" She shrieked, and even Selene, who had no clue about the conversation, decided that this environment was perhaps not the best one to be in.

"Um, I'm just going to…" Charlie began, looking across at Fred, George and Selene quickly, a 'help me!' plea in his eyes.

"Yeah, us too." Fred said eagerly, backing towards the door, keeping one eye on his mother at all times. "Come on George, Selene…"

"Us as well!" Ron cut in, running through to the room outside without a second glance.

"THEY DID WHAT?" Mrs Weasley shrieked again as the door swung shut behind them all.

* * *

No one paid attention to the three people, all around Hogwarts age, who were walking directly up the middle of Diagon Alley street, heading straight for one of the more run-down buildings at the other end, slightly closer to Knockturn Alley.

They passed Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, Flourish and Blotts, the London branch of Honeydukes, Whizz-Hard Books, the old antiques shop, the Apothecary, even Gringotts, before they got to 93 Diagon Alley.

It was tall, crumbling and painted a disgusting off-white colour, which was streaked with soot. "It's been empty since the First War." George explained, looking up at the paintwork with a beady eye. "No one else wanted to live here, the last owner died inside, killed by Death Eaters."

Selene shuddered at the thought, but didn't say anything as Fred continued. "We're going to paint it, obviously." He nodded, at George, who agreed. "And inside needs a hell of a lot of work done too, but we got it cheap, so we're not complaining. The last owner was the son of the guy who died, wanted nothing more to do with it."

He produced a jangling set of keys from his pocket, and stepped forward to slip the oldest, rustiest key in the equally rusty lock. "We're starting on the back rooms." George said, as Fred wrenched and pulled at the door. "It's not quite as bad as Grimmauld, but it's close. Had to nick some of Mum's cleaning products."

Finally Fred managed to yank the door open with a loud creak, and flamboyantly bowed, holding the door open. "Inside, Milady." He said pompously, Selene stifling a giggle and stepping through.

"Thank you kind sir." She said, just as pompously, giggling again as the door swung shut in George's face, leaving him to wrench and pull at it like his twin had done before.

The interior of the soon-to-be shop was dusty, completely covered in cobwebs. A spider scuttled around in one of the corners, and Selene had to tiptoe over some rotten floorboards, but otherwise it was better than she could have expected from the twin's description. There was more than enough space for loads of shelves, and the twins had already put in something that would presumably be the till-counter.

Fred fumbled with another key for the next door, one in the back of the room, only having to push at it once to open it. "Now, here." He said, turning around to wink at Selene. "This is where the magic happens."

"Not literally." He said quickly, as Selene walked past him to see the back of the shop. "There's a basement for all the really dangerous experiments."

In contrast to the front, the back was almost completely clean, with no rotten floorboards, also painted a fluorescent green and orange pattern that made her head hurt just to look at it. "I credit Lee for the paintwork." George added, having evidently managed to finally get into the shop. "He got the Muggle paint from his Mum."

"That's not all." Fred grinned, as Selene whirled around to look at him. "Did we mention?"

"Three bedroom flat." George pointed to the ceiling above him, whistling through his teeth. "That's a little burnt, nothing drastic. Just a bit of magic and it'll be done before you can say 'Mischief Managed'!"

"You've done all this, by yourself?" Selene asked, blinking before taking a little time to look around again. "Wow. Um… just…"

"We're amazing, aren't we?" Fred smirked, walking over to slip his hand into hers again. "I mean, I am, George is just second-hand to me, I am the definite Weasley twin."

George looked at the two of them for a minute, before smiling and closing the door to the back room. He shut it a little more forcefully than he perhaps meant to, and Selene jumped.

Then there were two. Fred smiled again, dissolving into silence and lifting his other hand to rub the back of his neck gingerly. Selene smiled back, trying to disguise her awkwardness by looking around again. "I didn't know what to get you." She admitted, after a pregnant pause.

"Neither did I." Fred grinned. "Um… but yeah. I talked to Angelina, and Alicia, and Katie, even Cho, and then Ginny gave me some ideas and Hermione told me what type of things girls like you like getting for Christmas, then Mum gave me this idea and I thought maybe that would be better than what I had in mind and-"

"Fred?" Selene asked, biting her lip to disguise her smile. "You're rambling."

"Oh, I am." Fred laughed, biting his own lip whist running his hand through his hair. "Okay. Well, you see, I had this idea and…" He trailed off, realising that his sentence was going in no foreseeable direction and shook his head. "Okay."

"I'll go first." Selene offered, and Fred sagged in relief. "I… um, wasn't sure either, but… yeah."

She passed him a parcel, which Fred tore open rather eagerly. His jaw hit the ground.

"No. Way." He said, staring at the contents of the box in excitement. "How did you get this? There hasn't been one of these made for-"

"219 years." Selene supplemented easily, exhaling and looking at it with slight trepidation. "I made it myself, actually, from a book in the library. Hermione helped with some of the components, but it was mostly me, I guess."

Fred shook his head, and looked down at the small trinket in the seemingly miniscule box. It was a small eyepiece, used for seeing things that weren't there. As far as he knew, it was made in a similar way to Mad-Eye's eye, but the last person who could make them had died 220 years ago. "You're amazing." He said simply, flicking the box lid closed and sliding it into his pocket.

He grasped her arm and apperated them to a place that Selene had never seen before, a cliff-top judging by the faint roar of the sea and the smell of salt on the breeze. Selene jumped backwards when she realised where they were, much like she had done that night on the roof, but Fred caught her again, holding her tightly to him.

"I screwed it up." He said simply. "I wasn't going to apparate here, I promise, but I got distracted."

"It's okay." Selene said quietly, moving her head away to look at Fred. "And there's nothing to screw up Fred."

Fred sighed again, running a hand through his hair and absent-mindedly looking out at the horizon. "I have no idea why I brought you here." He admitted. "I think its somewhere up north, but I'm not sure. I had it all planned out, I'd take you for a meal and everything, Mum agreed to it, everything. So yes, I've screwed it up."

"What do you mean?" Selene asked curiously, moving far enough away so she could kiss him. "Fred, what do you mean?"

"I love you." Fred said suddenly, smashing his lips to hers with such force that Selene's knees gave way. When he pulled away, she was dazed and confused, blinking with wide eyes.

"I love you too." She said slowly, thanking every celestial being that they were completely alone. "But what do you mean? You had it all planned out, what do you mean by that?"

Fred sighed, biting his lip and dropping her hand. "Look." He said simply, his eyes flicking to the horizon. "I'm not often this… jumpy, I guess. But, the simple fact is, there is going to be a war."

"And we might die." Selene finished, in a small voice.

"Oh, you know me!" Fred laughed. "I'm not afraid of death in the slightest. What's the worst it can do? Kill me?"

Selene laughed openly, feeling a little more at ease. "That's not funny." She insisted, shaking her head.

"I'm more worried about… other things." Fred decided upon, ignoring her comment except for a small smile. "Like you, for instance. You'll be joining the Order, right?"

"Only if you don't mind." Selene added in, looking at him quickly. "I know you don't like me walking into the face of danger that much at all."

"I don't mean you can't!" Fred corrected hastily. "Just… be careful, okay? I'm allowed to be worried about you if you do. Is that okay?"

Selene nodded slowly. "Fred, what's the matter?" She asked cautiously, taking his hand and squeezing it. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

Fred looked down at their intertwined hands and nodded, almost to himself, steeling the courage a Gryffindor should have. "Selene." He said, his voice a little higher than he would have preferred. "Look, don't freak out on me. I guess it's good we're on a cliff-top, do feel free to jump off if the need arises."

Selene squeaked at the thought. "That's _really_ not funny." She insisted, going pink. "And I'm not going to freak out on you. What's the matter?"

He pushed one hand into his pocket, finding the small box he'd had on his person since the very beginning of the school year, just there, in his pocket. Waiting. It wasn't the first time the question had been on his tongue, but it was definitely the best time out of the ones he could have gone for. Especially as asking this in the middle of a DA lesson definitely wouldn't be good in the long term. "Selene Narcissa Malfoy." He said slowly, pulling the box out and keeping it covered by his hand. "From the moment I met you, I knew you weren't just like any other girl I'd met. For one thing, I hated you more than I probably should have."

Selene laughed nervously, pushing her hair out of her face. "Won't George be worried?" She asked quickly.

"He knows." Fred said quickly, taking her aback. "We've been planning this since September, but it's been on my mind since Cedric died. But anyway. Selene, I have no idea why you love me, and I'm amazingly lucky to have you. You've supported me through everything, from our joke shop to just normal, everyday life. I know you trust me a whole lot more than you should do, and that you're probably clever enough to have worked out exactly what I'm asking of you and just ignoring my every word."

"Fred?"

Fred looked up. "Yes?"

"You're rambling again." Selene smiled, a little confused but pleased all the same.

"Okay." Fred realised, and shook his head. "I'll cut to the chase then."

He got down on one knee, and Selene's hands went to her mouth. No. He wasn't… surely, no…

"Selene Narcissa Malfoy." He said, his face a mask of perfect sincerity. "Would you please do me the utmost pleasure of marrying me and becoming my wife?"

There was silence. Then Selene opened her mouth, and quietly, but surely, said the word, the only one that mattered.

"…Yes."


	55. Chapter 54: I Will Guide You

**Thank you to The souless ones, Dalonega Noquisi, Guest (erm… is that good or bad?), HT118, Gurl5678 (you may have to wait a while for the wedding, sorry), bellatrixD and Marine Astriella.**

**Well. Enjoy this chapter too. I had lots of positive feedback from the last one; I hope this one has as much good reception. Fluff… Lots and lots and lots and lots of fluff. Go and check out my spin-off story 'The Life And Times Of Selene Malfoy', which is a series of drabbles all linked to this one.**

**Please review!**

* * *

"I can take your problems away, with a nod and a wave of my hand, 'cause that's just the kind of boy that I am." - Thriller by Fall Out Boy

* * *

Chapter 54: I Will Guide You

"And you said yes!" Hermione squealed, jumping up to hug Selene around her shoulders. "Oh, this is just… beautiful! Do you know when it's happening?"

"Not for a while Hermione." Selene insisted, laughing a little. "We don't want to rush things. Mrs Weasley was all for this summer, but we're happy waiting until life's calmed down, and I'm settled with a job and the joke shop has been going a while."

Ginny shrugged. "Let me see it!" She demanded, picking up Selene 's left hand to get a better look at the engagement ring. "Wow, it's…"

"Beautiful…" Selene echoed, looking down at her own hand. The ring was purple, with a single amethyst, but not overly extravagant.

_"It belonged to Uncle Fabian." Fred explained, laughing at the look on his fiancée's face. "Yes, he had a girlfriend. Wouldn't have thought it, would you?"_

She was glad for the simplicity, as her mother would have gone for something dressy and overlarge. A sharp pang sounded in her stomach as she thought of her family – what would they think of her now? Selene sighed, he mother's parting words still hung heavy over her, and Draco's attempt to patch things up meant more to her than words could say.

"What did Sirius say?" Hermione asked quickly, sensing that Selene's thoughts were going too less pleasant territories. "He's not going to be pleased, surely."

Selene blinked, and grimaced. "Uh…" She said, looking around. "I haven't told him yet." She admitted. "He's just going to think Fred got me pregnant or something."

"You aren't!" Ginny said sharply, elaborating when Selene looked at her curiously. "Pregnant, I mean."

Going bright red, Selene shook her head furiously. "No, no way." She said adamantly. "No!" She continued to protest, as Ginny and Hermione shared a look. "He's just going to _think _that, I mean. Nothing more."

"And Ted?" Ginny reminded, watching smugly as Selene went pink again. "He's probably going to jump to the wrong conclusion as well."

"How many people _have _you told?" Hermione queried slowly.

Selene thought for a few moments. "Um…" She said slowly, not really looking at either girl. "You two, George, and Mrs Weasley."

There was a long silence. "Okay." Ginny said slowly. "But seriously, something like this… you can't really just keep it under wraps."

"I'm not planning on it becoming common knowledge." Selene admitted, shaking her head. "Umbridge is out to get me as it is, she has too much ammunition against me anyway."

"Fred's gonna die…" Ginny sang, getting up and walking to the door. "Promise this now – I will be bridesmaid."

Selene smiled, and nodded. "Of course." She said quickly, looking down at her hand like she could barely believe the ring herself. "And I'm sure Sirius won't… actively… kill Fred…"

Somehow, that didn't seem very likely.

* * *

"Um… Sirius?" Selene said carefully, knocking on the door to Buckbeak's room, which once belonged to her great-aunt Walpurga. The man in question looked up and grinned, walking away from Buckbeak and pushing them both out of the room.

"You didn't come home until gone two in the morning last night." He said sternly, but Selene could see a twinkle in his eye. "Oh, come off it Selene, I was young once too. What's the matter?"

Selene smiled nervously, shoving her left hand into her pocket. "I… need to tell you something." She said quickly.

Sirius's smile waned immediately. "Oh, here it is." He said. "What's the matter? Has Fred hurt you?"

"NO!" Selene blurted, blinking at the urgent tone of her voice. "No! The opposite, in fact." She gave her cousin an anxious look, before continuing. "Um.. Sirius, me and Fred are…"

"No." Sirius said quickly. He looked terribly, incredibly angry. "Selene, where is he?"

Selene blinked owlishly, looking around as if Fred might jump out from somewhere. "I don't know, Sirius, I haven't even told you yet-"

Before Selene could finish what she was about to say, Sirius ran down the stairs like a hoard of Dementors were following him at the speed of a Thestral. "This is it." He muttered, almost knocking over Remus, who had gone to find out exactly what Sirius was up to with Buckbeak.

"Sirius?" Remus said slowly, his eyes then flicking upward to see Selene on the top landing, staring down at Sirius, who was making his way to the kitchen. "Selene, do you know what Sirius is doing?"

Selene swallowed, half-knowing, half-confused. "I think…" She said slowly, but then the door to the kitchen swung open, banging against the wall and Sirius's voice cut through the entire house, clear as day.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

The curtains on Mrs Black's portrait swung open, and Selene apperated down to the landing to heave them shut with the help of Remus. But Sirius's yells were enough to re-open them, so Remus stayed behind to hold them shut as Selene moved down the hall.

"SIRIUS!" Mrs Weasley yelled back. "KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN! What is the matter?"

Selene almost threw herself into the doorway, getting there just in time to see Fred looking absolutely terrified, with Sirius standing over him like a tyrant. Mrs Weasley looked furious, her hand on her hip with a saucepan in her hand.

"YOUR SON!" Sirius screamed, and Selene shared a quick look with George. Harry and Hermione, the other two in the room apart from the Weasleys, carefully stepped to one side, wisely choosing to let the matter blow over before anyone got seriously hurt.

"What have I done?" Fred said quickly, attempting a grin. "Geez Sirius, what's the matter?"

"WHAT'S THE MATTER?" Sirius yelled, and somewhere Mrs Black started to scream again. Hermione ran out to help Remus, which left the rest of them staring at Sirius's less-than-silent stand-off with Fred. "MOLLY, DO YOU KNOW WHAT FRED HAS DONE TO MY BABY COUSIN?"

"What do you mean?" Selene spun around to see Lily standing next to Harry. "Sirius, Fred, Mrs Weasley?" She clapped her hands together, like she had realised something. "Yes, as I said it would, the zombie apocalypse has finally begun!"

Sirius laughed dryly, keeping one eye on Fred as he spoke to Lily. "I wish." He said, glaring at Fred. "SHE'S BARELY OF AGE! GOD, YOU'RE BOTH STILL IN SCHOOL!"

"Oh…" Fred said, smacking his palm to his forehead. "Oh, that. Well, it's not happening anytime soon-"

"BUT IT WILL DO!" Sirius screeched, and Mrs Weasley began to raise her voice. "WHAT IS IT – NINE MONTHS?"

The whole room fell silent. Sirius looked around him at the rest of the group, his brow furrowing when he saw several clearly confused faces. Then George began to laugh.

"This is one for the photo album!" He said, through his peals. "Oh, look at his face!"

"What?" Sirius began, his jaw dropping open, before turning to Selene. "Selene, you mean, you're not?"

Selene fought the urge to face-palm, and instead settled on shaking her head vigorously. "NO." She said clearly, casting a pointed look at Ginny, who was looking triumphant. "Sirius, no, I am not… um…" He face went very red. "…Pregnant… okay?"

"Oh." Sirius moved away from Fred, who looked extremely relieved. "What were you trying to tell me then?"

"Yeah, what is it?" Harry asked, having recovered from the shock of having Sirius burst in and begin shouting obscenities at Fred.

Selene looked at Fred, who smiled and nodded encouragingly at her. "Yeah… um, well." She began, trying to find the right words to convey what she needed to say. "Yeah. Well, um…"

"Selene?" Selene looked up to see Fred standing next to her, his lips right up to her ear. "You're rambling again love."

"Oh, for the love of Godric." George blurted, looking incredibly bored at having to stand through another flirtation exchange between his twin and his soon to-be sister-in-law. "Everyone, my dear twin brother is getting married."

He said it so fast that it didn't initially sink in with anyone. It took Harry's jaw drop and Lily's squeal to make it settle in with the others who weren't previously in the know.

"You owe me ten sickles." Charlie said to Bill, who glowered but handed over the money. "Oh yes." He grinned at Fred, stepping forward to ruffle his hair and winked at Selene. "Congratulations you two. Looking forward to getting another Weasley in the fold."

"She said I could be bridesmaid." Ginny cut in quickly, before anyone could say anything to the contrary.

"Wouldn't have it any other way sister of mine." Fred said pompously, nodding formally at Ginny, who giggled. "Although…"

Sirius sighed. "Okay." He said, with a resigned air. "Fred, Selene, just… Fred, come with me."

He grabbed Fred by the arm and towed him into the hall, closely followed by Hermione, Ted, Ginny and Lily. "Right." Sirius growled, looking sternly at the boy in front of him. "I have some things to tell you _Frederick Weasley_."

Fred gulped, but nodded. "One." Sirius began. "Selene is pure-" Ginny coughed something under her breath here, something that Lily evidently agreed wholeheartedly with. "-And lovely. You will _not _defile her."

"Yes sir." It was clear that Fred had next to no idea what Sirius was on about, but he knew that to say so would be suicide. "Um… clear as crystal sir."

"Two." Sirius rolled his eyes, but his stern look didn't wane. "You are not allowed to have children until you are at least twenty-one, is that clear?"

It looked like Fred was almost going to oppose this one, but then he nodded.

"Three." Sirius counted on his fingers. "If you hurt her, at any time, you will pay. I will personally make sure that I _do _go back into Azkaban."

Fred gulped again, as Ginny piped up. "And I will hex you until your brain comes out of your ears and you turn inside out." She said pleasantly.

"I will hit you over the head again and again with _Hogwarts: A History_." Hermione added, looking at Ginny, who nodded approvingly.

"And I will cut your toes off, stick them in your mouth and cut your throat as you slowly bleed to death…" Lily drew out, smiling slightly rabidly. "Ah… Sweet revenge…"

"I'll just make you wish you were never born." Ted said simply, but something in his voice made Fred stand up and practically run from the hall.

"Are you okay?" Selene asked concernedly, as Fred walked up to her with a worried expression on his face.

"Your family are stark-raving bananas."

* * *

It was always calm, the roof of Grimmauld Place, especially at night. It had become a kind of meeting place for them, just a place where Sirius wasn't yelling at them every five minutes to stand at least six inches apart and Harry not trusting them in a room on there own.

But as far as they knew, Sirius was the only one who knew that there was a door to the roof, and he had the decency to at least leave them alone when they were 'up there' (as George like to refer to it).

"Do you ever wonder what it must be like out there?" Selene asked, shifting slightly so her legs wouldn't go numb.

Fred looked towards where she was pointing, and shrugged. "Out there as in the rest of London or out there as in…" He gestured with the hand that wasn't running though her hair towards the distant horizon.

"I mean as in out there, really out there." Selene sighed, resting her head on his leg. "Being there, working to stop Voldemort while we're just… here."

"Sometimes." Fred said simply, his eyes flicking back down to Selene. "Hogwarts tomorrow?"

"Hogwarts tomorrow." Selene agreed, her eyes looking up through her eyelashes to meet Fred's gaze. "I really missed them."

"So did I." Fred's hand stilled. "Have you decided who you want to tell at school yet?"

Selene nodded slowly, feeling his leg twitch beneath her head. "Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Lee, Neville and Cho."

Fred made a small grunt of approval after each name, except for the last. "Really?" He said, slightly annoyed. "Cho?"

"Fred, she deserves to know this at least." Selene shifted, trying to sit up. "I trust her an awful lot."

"Okay."

Selene blinked. She had expected a lot more protest from him about this matter. "So, it's okay?" She hazarded, stopping her attempts to sit up and coping with just moving her head so she was facing him. "Me, telling Cho, is okay?"

"What?" Fred said sarcastically. "Do we argue enough that I'm not allowed to agree with my beautiful fiancée?"

"No, I just thought you didn't like Cho."

Fred shifted again, and his hand began to run through Selene's hair. "It's for a good reason." He admitted, smiling down at her. "Have I ever said how beautiful you are in moonlight?"

"I don't think so…" Selene trailed off, going rather red. "Are we telling any teachers then?"

"Well." Fred thought for a moment, before scoffing. "Nah. The only one I'd be half-way to telling was McGonagall, and I doubt she'd care."

"Dumbledore probably already knows." Selene pointed out, to which Fred nodded.

They were silent again for a quite a long time, Selene silently listening to Fred's breathing. Then she flinched.

"Are you okay?" Fred said urgently, gripping her hand. "Selene, are you okay?"

Selene inhaled sharply, looking at Fred with fearful eyes. His face began to swim in front of her vision, and it felt like someone was punching her in the stomach. "V-Voldemort." She whispered, knowing the symptoms for what it really was now. She quickly grabbed the collar of Fred's shirt and pulled him to her, feeling the dizziness stop somewhat once they were kissing.

It still felt like someone was trying to get at her, but the attempts grew fainter and fainter with time. Selene tangled her hands in Fred's hair, absent-mindedly biting his lip.

When nothing more happened to her, Selene pulled away, pressing one hand to her bruised lips and breathing heavily. "We…" Fred panted. "We should… really do that again sometime…"

"He just… left." Selene said curiously. "Why was that?"

"Maybe olde Voldie's a prude like George." Fred suggested. It wasn't a funny joke, but Selene giggled at it. "What do you think he was trying to see? Do you know what memories he was trying to get at?"

Selene thought for a moment. "I think…" She said hesitantly. "I think he was trying to see where I was."

"Thank Godric you stopped him then." Fred sighed in relief, grinning again as the two of them settled back down to their original position. "Oh, did I say? I haven't actually given you your Christmas present yet."

Selene blinked, looking down at the ring on her hand. "Uh… I think you did." She corrected, holding the hand up to him. "Unless I've been dreaming for the last few days."

"No, it's all real." Fred stood up, pulling Selene up with one hand. "It didn't take us days to sort out just me proposing to you. Close your eyes."

"Why?" Selene asked, raising one eyebrow when Fred didn't give her a response. "Fred, come on."

"Just do it." Fred pouted. Selene giggled, closing her eyes as she was told to do. She stood there, feeling a little silly, for a few moments, before feeling Fred's fingers brush the skin of her neck. She shivered, and felt Fred chuckle from behind her. "Cold much love?"

"No." Selene insisted. She began to open her eyes, but Fred pushed them closed again.

"Is it me then?" Fred whispered, chuckling again. "You can open your eyes now."

Selene's eyes fluttered open, to see two arms hooked around her neck. Her eyes flicked down, regarding a small pendant-type charm hung on a simple chain. She held it in one hand. "What's this?" She asked curiously, the metal of the bracelet Dora had bought her clinking against the chain of the necklace.

"It's called a compass." Fred explained, moving his arms and walking around to face her. "Hermione told me about it once. It's a Muggle thing, used for finding where you are. This one-" He tapped the charm, making a hollow ringing noise. "Has a charm on it. If you tap it with your wand and say _Invenire_, then it will always point to where I am."

Selene took out her wand, which she had taken to carrying with her at all times (on the whim of Mad-Eye and Remus), and tapped the compass, whispering the charm under her breath. Just like he said that it would, the red hand of the compass swung around until it was pointing to Fred. "This is amazing…" She murmured, turning the pendant around in her hands. "Really, amazingly remarkable magic!"

"I do like to pride myself on my skills." Fred grinned, as Selene let the compass drop back around her neck. "I think it goes well with the bracelet."

"Dora got it, everything will go well with it." Selene pointed out. "You know you said the ring belonged to your uncle?"

Fred shrugged, and nodded. "My grandfather gave it to me." He explained. "He's the one that married your great-great aunt or something. Grandpa keeps all of the little trinkets our family have, and even Mum's taken to giving him little bits and bobs in his old age."

"Apparently Aunty Andy got the bracelet from her old family vault before she left my mother and Aunt… Aunt Bella." Selene shuddered, the face of her aunt whirling through her head. The almost-kind woman that she knew as a child, to the madwoman in Azkaban. "It's supposed to give you luck, whenever you need it the most."

"Aw, you know, that is _really _cheesy." Fred whined. "Cheesier than Charlie's feet."

"And the compass charm isn't?" Selene teased lightly, placing her hands on his shoulders. "It's beautiful Fred. You really didn't have to get me anything at all."

"What did I get for you last year?" Fred's brow furrowed, like he was thinking hard. "Nothing, because I technically didn't like you then."

"A year can change a lot of things." Selene pointed out, laughing under her breath. "And you did get me something last year _Freddie_."

"What?"

"_Hope_."

* * *

Everyone lined up in the drawing room, in front of the fireplace. "Right." Mrs Weasley said sternly, raising her voice above Ginny's argument with Ron. "Everyone, listen up. Dumbledore's let your Heads of Houses know that you'll be coming through. It's easier to go by Floo Powder, so that Umbridge woman can't corner you and ask where you've been."

Harry flinched at the name of the DADA teacher, but shrugged after Selene smiled at him encouragingly. "Fred, George." Mrs Weasley said, after a sigh. "Keep out of trouble."

"That's like telling Ron to stay away from bacon." Ginny piped up, ignoring Hermione's eye-roll. "Or Hermione to stay away from the library!"

"Ooh, I could _never _do that…" Hermione trailed off, sounding and looking stricken. "Imaging how loud the common room would get all the time! I would never be able to think!"

"And we'd probably try to stab you." Lily smiled at the disapproving glare Mrs Weasley shot her. "What Mrs W? It's true!"

Mrs Weasley ignored her, and made her way down the line of people. "Harry, dear." She said kindly, stopping next to the boy in question. "Do let Arthur and I know if you need anything."

"Thanks Mrs Weasley." Harry said, smiling gratefully at Mrs Weasley, who patted his shoulder.

"And let us know if the Occulmency lessons are going alright." She continued, looking at Selene to include her in this statement. "I'm glad the link has waned though Selene dear."

Fred turned around momentarily to give Selene a wink that made her go tomato-red, but she hid her face in her hands to give her time for it to wane. "We're both so pleased!" Mr Weasley, who had not said anything as of yet, as he had been talking to Sirius, cut in, smiling and giving Selene a pat on the shoulder. "We let Professor Dumbledore know, of course, but we've left it up to you two to decide who else you tell."

"Um… Thank you Mr Weasley." Selene said slowly, managing a weak smile. Even though she had got over the shock fairly quickly, the mention or talk of her and Fred actually marrying was still surreal to her. "I think we've figured it out."

"Good luck with your N.E.W.T.s." Mrs Weasley said, before scooping Selene up in a huge hug that shocked the breath out of her. "Keep an eye on Fred and George for us. Goodness knows what they get up to nowadays…"

"Selene!" Someone called, and Selene whirled around to see Sirius standing a few feet behind her. "Come over here."

Selene looked around, but Mr and Mrs Weasley were now talking to Ginny and Hermione. "I'll miss you Sirius." She said, giving Sirius a huge hug. He seemed surprised at first, but eventually reciprocated it.

"I'll miss you too Sellie." Sirius grinned widely as Selene raised an eyebrow. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. You're getting married."

Selene smiled. "Yeah." She said, looking behind her instinctively to glance at Fred. "I think I am."

"I know you think I have a problem with Fred." Sirius continued, running a hand through his shaggy black hair. "I don't, okay? He's much better than anyone I thought you might go for." He paused for a moment, nodding at Mrs Weasley, who looked like she was about to start berating him for holding them up. "It's just… You know I love you like you were my own daughter, and I definitely treat you like one, so would you mind if…?"

He stopped here, looking unsure of what to say. "Sirius?" Selene said quietly. "Considering that my father and my brother are unlikely to agree to me marrying Fred, please would you give me away?"

Sirius practically beamed. "I'd love to." He said cheerily. "As long as you let me wear a lurid set of dress robes and sing 'Puff The Magic Dragon' through the entire ceremony."

Selene laughed, hugging him again. "Of course." She said. "But quietly. You really can't sing very well."

"Oh, that isn't the best part!" Sirius smirked. "I get to embarrass you."

"Come on Selene!" Mr Weasley called. "You'll be late!"

"I'll write." Selene said quickly, pecking Sirius's cheek before hurrying over to the fireplace, taking a handful of Floo Powder from Mrs Weasley. "Professor Flitwick's office!"

As she stepped into the fire, the last thing she saw was Sirius laughing at something Harry had just said to him before she was spat out in Professor Flitwick's office.

"Ah, Miss Malfoy!" Professor Flitwick squeaked, as Selene brushed the soot off her robes. "Professor McGonagall let me know when you would be coming through. A few other students are coming by the Floo Network, so could you…?"

Selene even surprised herself with how quickly she settled back into the routine. "Of course." She said quickly, moving to stand next to the fireplace. "How was your holiday Professor?"

"Oh, quite good thank you!" Professor Flitwick said, with a smile. "I went to see my sister's children, and her grand-children. They live in America, you see? The Wizards over there are quite fascinating!"

"Do they go to Salem academy?" Selene said, glancing up from the list of students Flitwick had passed her.

Professor Flitwick nodded. "The eldest left just a few years ago." He explained. "But they youngest has just started. The examination system is somewhat different to ours, for one they prefer the Muggle way of grading things – in fact their whole society is much more prolific in the Muggle society altogether – and they don't have a Statute of Secrecy like we do."

The fire glowed green, and Selene rushed forward to stop a small second-year from tripping over. "You okay?" She said, brushing her hair out of her face as the second-year looked up at her with a scared expression.

"Hello Miss Pringle." Professor Flitwick said kindly. "There you go – Miss Malfoy?"

Selene ticked the name off her list, watching the second-year go with the subconscious question – _was I ever that small?_

* * *

When she entered the Ravenclaw common room, Selene half-expected everyone to leap on her, asking where she'd been, if Mr Weasley was okay (the news probably would have spread despite the lack of press coverage), the works. Instead, she was greeted with a few smiles and glances, nothing more.

"Hey." Cho greeted, as Selene took her normal seat on the sofa in front of the fire, next to Cho. "Good Christmas?"

"Amazing." Selene said truthfully, smiling as Cho beamed. "You seem happy. Anything good happen?"

Cho's chirpy voice dropped, and she looked around shiftily, like anyone might be listening in. "Guess what?" She said mysteriously, smiling at Selene. When Selene made no attempt to guess, she rolled her eyes and leant in further. "Harry kissed me! After the last DA meeting!"

Selene blinked. Harry hadn't told her this, which was unsurprising considering that they hadn't been talking for days and Harry was often with Sirius up until they day they left, so it was a massive shock. "Really?" She said, quirking an eyebrow. "I didn't think he had the guts."

"Neither did I." Cho admitted, smiling at Selene's shock. "I know! It's so amazing! Come on, tell me one piece of amazing news that you have!"

"Um… Cho?" Selene began, suddenly very aware that they were in a room full of silent, hard-working students. "Can we go somewhere less crowded?"

When they had reached a quiet alcove some distance from Ravenclaw tower, Selene slowed, and stopped. "Okay." She continued. "Cho, something… came up over the holidays."

"What?" Cho still looked as excited as when she had told Selene that she had kissed Harry. "Come on, tell me!"

Selene smiled slightly. "I think you already know…?" She hazarded, exhaling when Cho nodded.

"He _finally _asked you, didn't he?" She grinned, throwing her arms around her best friend. "I knew it!"

"Selene!" Someone called, and Selene turned away from Cho, who looked somewhat shell-shocked. "Oh, I've been looking all over for you!"

Selene smiled. "Hi Astoria." She greeted, ignoring Cho's exclamation of mingled surprise and confusion. "It's nice to see you. How was your holiday?"

Astoria leant heavily on the wall for support, while she got her breath back, before straightening up. "When's the next meeting?"


	56. Chapter 55: Falling Through

**Hello everyone! Yes, I'm still alive! I have a few announcements to make before I get onto thanks and the chapter.**

**1\. I have got a load of new stories up. I would love it if you could all read them – two of them (The Life And Times Of Selene Malfoy and The Marvellous Misadventures of Liliana Tonks) are spin-offs of this so I hope you like them as well!**

**2\. I have joined a forum called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges And Assignments). I am a Gryffindor; we are all hyperactive, spike all the food and drink and live in wonderland! Come along and join! We all get sorted, etc. and then we get classes and clubs.**

**3\. I have been told that I write Selene into the story like she was written by JK Rowling. Wow. Just… wow. JK is one of my favourite authors (others are Derek Landy and so on…), and Selene is, well, my kid. So thank you to the Guest that said that, because that has made me feel really happy.**

**That's all done now. Ooh, a little shameless self-advertising (I know people don't read ANs but oh well)! I have a blog called Diary Of The Oddest Fangirl, you can go read that when there's no updates on here if you want.**

**Okay. Cookies and cupcakes to The souless ones (I'm glad you feel that way Viv, I do too). **

**HT118 (I just had to add that in, although it made me cry when I realised the truth of it). **

**Dalonega Noquisi - Astoria will become a bit of a main character as this story comes on, see if you can guess how her family and life will fit in! Alos the compass…. That's not over yet either. And I hope/wish Sirius can too.**

**Blacklab369 (YAY! NEW REVIEWER! CUE HAPPY DANCE!), I know. Unfortunately, keeping Sirius will make this story really hard to write when I get to the Half-Blood Prince, so I think he's dying. :'(**

**dumblesbashing: I think I sent you a PM, but I can't remember, so here goes. No wedding for a while, sorry, but probably in about a year-ish. Fred's death? Well…. That **_**would **_**be telling, ha ha!**

**Guest: thanks for the praise. And Fred… there is a 0.01% chance that he will die.**

**EmerC – I love Thriller too, so I had to quote it, naturally. And listened to and noted! And Cho… well, Cho's a whole different kettle of fish. All in due time.**

**Guest: I hope you like the drabbles! And well, I just read. And then I let my words flow and my fingers type. I was really clumsy to begin with, it's just come with time, I guess. But thanks, but I'm not **_**that **_**awesome.**

**And Gurl5678. Well, I'm going with the poll results, which ay or may not link to that statement. I completely forgot Cho's was a swan… oops. But on the whole, I'm really pleased with the choice. It's perfect.**

**Well. 296 reviews. Can I get to 300? Tell you what. A little competition. The 300****th**** reviewer gets a one-shot written for them. How's that sound?**

**But please, if you missed that mark, please still review! Now, enjoy Frelene fluff, a bit of Snape, Selene/Angelina friendship, Selene/Neville and Selene/George friendship fluff and a little bit of Dumbledore!**

* * *

"Head first then foot, the heart sets sail." - Fez (Being Born) by U2

* * *

Chapter 55: Falling Through

"Well." Harry said, his voice slightly higher pitched. "We… erm, have a couple of new members joining us this morning. Most of you know Seamus," Seamus waved around at the DA, most of them waving back or slapping him on the back. "And, it's Astoria, isn't it?"

Astoria nodded shyly, noting that the majority of the DA were glaring at her, save for Harry (who was grimacing) and Selene. "Astoria Greengrass." She said, in a high-pitched voice.

There were a few mumbles of welcome, but nothing concrete. Selene looked at the young Slytherin encouragingly. "Okay." Astoria raised her voice, still looking like a deer caught in headlights. "I'm here-" He voice caught, but she continued all the same. "I'm here because I want to fight. On the right side."

"Yeah, still, you're a Slytherin." Zacharias Smith said scornfully. "None of us want you here-"

"Well, none of us want _you _here mate." George cut in, much to general amazement. "Leave or shut up."

"_Thank you_." Selene mouthed at George, who smiled back and winked. Harry went on about their topic for today (which was to be recapping the things they learnt before the holidays), as Fred walked up to his fiancée.

"Astoria Greengrass, eh?" He asked, his eyes seeking out the Slytherin. "What's that all about then?"

Selene looked up at Fred, smiling at his slightly puzzled look. "I met her a while ago." She explained. "In the Hospital Wing, after…"

She trailed off, not really knowing what to finish the sentence with. Luckily Fred guessed and nodded, trying to tune back into Harry's speech but ultimately failing. "I think helping her is exactly something that you'd do love." He teased lightly, pressing his lips to her cheek lightly.

"I don't know whether to be ashamed or pleases." Selene rolled her eyes, as Harry began to pair everyone off. "You're going with George, right?"

"Nah." Fred shook his head, gesturing to where George was flamboyantly gesturing to Angelina. "I think he's wooing a lady."

"NOW, REMEMBER!" Harry yelled, above everyone's yelling, and the shouting of spells. "REDUCTO, WITH A JABBING MOTION!"

Fred rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, turning to the target nearest to them, which was by the bookcase, and brandishing his wand. Instead of the target going neatly up in smoke, the whole bookcase was smashed to smithereens.

"FRED!" Selene yelled, running forward to examine the rubble that had once been the bookshelf. "You… YOU DON'T JUST _DO _THAT!"

Fred grimaced, trying to go and help, but Selene shook her head quickly. "No, I can do this." She said slowly, casting a rather slow _Reparo _spell on the bookcase, sighing when it didn't work. "_Reparo_. _Reparo_."

Still, nothing happened. "Maybe you need to calm down a bit love." Fred said slowly, resting his hand on her shoulder. "Magic hardly ever works when you're not focused."

"I am focused though." Selene said, but knew it was a lie. Suddenly, her mind started to burn. She bit her lip so hard that she drew blood, and stifled a cry of pain. She didn't remember it hurting this bad…

"F-Fred…" She murmured quietly, almost collapsing where she stood. She was vaguely aware of Fred helping her up again, and walking out of the Room with her. "F-Fred…" She repeated, the world spinning. She tried to find her logic, her mind, but she was already too far-gone.

* * *

_"No." My mother says sternly to me, casting a wary glance over the room towards the people I apparently couldn't talk to. "Selene, when you are older, you will understand, but for now you must trust us."_

_ I blink over to where my mother looked, but a still hand on my arm changed that for me. "But-" I begin, but my mother changes my thought chain almost immediately._

_ "I'd like you to meet Theodore Nott, Selene." My mother introduces me to a boy, maybe a year, two years my junior, but looks so stern and prim he might as well be older. "Theodore, this is my daughter."_

_ Theodore nods primly, dropping a kiss to my hand. I have read about these moments in stories, but I don't feel anything in the slightest. "It is a pleasure to meet you Selene." He greets, not a hint of nervousness in his voice. _

_ "It is a pleasure to meet you also Theodore." I greet back, and notice my mother looking exceedingly pleased that we are 'getting along'. Then I know nothing else of what to say._

_ He makes an excuse to disappear, one that I do not listen to, and my mother leads me over to the Greengrass family. "Ah, Astoria!" I can hear the mother saying as we near. "Narcissa!"_

_ "Amanda." I am not surprised to hear my mother's tone indifferent. "Gregory. This is my eldest, Selene."_

_ "It's good to meet you Selene." The father says, holding his hand out to me. I stare at it for a few moments, before taking it, almost in wonder. His grip is firm, but somehow relaxed, and his smiley, almost carefree attitude is a breath of fresh air to me. I have _never _been treated as an equal by anyone before. _

_ And, in a split second decision, I decide that I like Gregory Greengrass a lot. "You too sir." I say back, smiling as well. My mother is taken aback – I know it, as I am never vocal, just polite. _

_ "This is my youngest, Astoria." The mother says, not looking pleased at her husband's attitude. "Say hello Astoria."_

_ Astoria is small, maybe six? I smile at her as well, and am rewarded by one of hers. "Hello." She says, clearly and strongly for a six year-old. "It's nice to meet you Selene."_

_ "It's nice to meet you too Astoria." I say back, meaning it like I did with her father, and when I shake her hand, it feels like I've made two new friends in the space of a minute._

* * *

When Selene surfaced, Fred was cradling her head and she was in the Potions dungeons. She sat bolt upright, which shocked Fred. "Calm down love." He said gently, coaxing her back down. "You had another…"

"It is called _vision_, Mr. Weasley." The icy, slimy voice of Severus Snape cut in. "Ten points from Gryffindor for your obvious disregard for knowledge."

Fred scowled, but Selene looked up at him meaningfully. "Thank you." She said quietly from him. Then she raised her voice. "Um… Professor Snape?"

"Save it." Snape snapped. "If you would be as good as to sit up, Miss Malfoy."

Selene sat up, slowly, as the world was still dizzy and spinning around her. Fred steadied her, biting his lip as she wobbled a little. When she was stable, Professor Snape strode to the door and held it open. "Thank you ." He said meaningfully.

"But-" Fred began.

"This is a matter purely between me and Miss Malfoy." Snape snapped again. "Out! Now! Or I'll make it fifty points from Gryffindor!"

Fred grumbled under his breath and left, giving Selene and anxious look as he did. When the door was firmly closed, Snape turned to Selene. "Miss Malfoy." He said, all traces of hatred from his voice surprisingly gone. "I have heard from Professor Dumbledore about your engagement. I suppose congratulations are in order."

Selene blinked, but Professor Snape left her no room to comment. "Save it!" He snapped once again. "I hear things that I _need to know_, Miss Malfoy." He said simply. "And this… piece of news was high up on my list. The Dark Lord could do so much with this information if he found out."

Selene shivered at the thought, but didn't try to ask or say anything, as Snape was obviously not yet finished. "So, naturally." Snape continued in his haughty drawl. "Naturally it would be very bad if he was to see any of your _most recent _memories Miss Malfoy."

"Um… Professor?" Selene hazarded, blinking when Snape raised one hand as if to say 'go on then'. "My parents, Draco. Are they-"

"Your brother is perfectly fine." Snape said, his voice a flat monotone. "For now at least. The Dark Lord did not truly expect you to stay away over Christmas, and he prides himself on being correct at all times. As for Lucius, however…" Snape's voice grew silkier. "Lucius is not pleased at all. I would advise you to watch your step Miss Malfoy, as I am sure that he will not let your last few months at school go unwatched."

Although her housemates and friends grumbled and groused about the haughty and cold Potions Professor, Snape had never been truly hard on Selene. That might have been down to his godfather-ship of Draco once upon a time, but it was quite clear now that her previous belief wasn't the case here. Harry could see Professor Snape as an enemy, someone that wasn't to be trusted, but Selene knew that Snape had most likely taken it upon himself to tutor him and her in Occulmency, and that, coupled with his position in Voldemort's ranks, showed his compassion deep down and his fearlessness. After all, training the boy-who-lived and the daughter of one of the Dark Lord's most feared Death Eaters to repel something that Voldemort had been using against them for far too long could be suicide.

So Selene smiled, and nodded. "Yes Professor." She said, trying to inject gratefulness into her tone. "I'll be sure to do so."

If Snape was surprised, he didn't show it. He walked over to the door, not stalking like he had done to show Fred out but walking calmly, and swung it open with no audible snap or creak. "I'll see you with Mr Potter for your first lesson on Friday." He said, nodding at Selene to go.

She made it halfway down the corridor to the steps that led up to the Entrance Hall before he called after her. "Ah, Miss Malfoy?"

Selene turned around slowly, keeping her balance despite her shock. She was too far away to see, but she could have been sure that she saw a glimmer of a smirk on his face. "Thank you for tutoring Mr Longbottom." He said, in a disinterested but not unkind way. "He has been making far fewer mistakes in my lessons than normal since he has been under your care."

"Thank you Professor." Selene smiled, before moving away again.

Snape stood there for a few moments, remembering a time a good twenty years ago when another girl and stood there and thanked him. Then he scoffed, shook his head and stalked back into his dungeon, the door slamming closed behind him.

* * *

"No way!" Alicia squeaked, a sound echoed by Katie. "No way!"

Selene shook her head at them quickly, looking across at a slightly interested Professor Umbridge. "Not yet." She whispered, flicking her eyes at Umbridge and back again quickly, trying to get meaning into the gesture. "Not for a very long while, okay? And don't squeal so loud, this isn't something that I'd like spread aro-"

"Hello ladies." Selene jumped to see Professor Umbridge standing directly above them all, smiling down at them with no pleasure in her expression. "What are you all doing outside on a day like this?"

She held her hand out from where it was clutching her clipboard as if to test the temperature, as the four girls looked up to see the first few hints of a snowstorm trailing down. "I thought as much." Umbridge said smugly. "May I ask what you were discussing in such… ah, close proximity to one another?"

"Bugs." Katie blurted.

"Yeah." Alicia said hesitantly, looking at Selene and Angelina for backup. "They're very… interesting…?"

Angelina, who was doing Care of Magical Creatures as a N.E.W.T, nodded eagerly. "The Hinkypunk eats these types of bugs." She thought up randomly, pulling ideas out of thin air. "It's an extra-credit essay for Professor Hagrid. Katie, Alicia and Selene were just helping me with it."

Umbridge's mouth shriveled up like she had swallowed a lemon. "Very well." She said curtly, whirling around and stalking away, her bright pink heels clicking on the stones of the courtyard as she made a hasty exit for the castle.

"We'd better go." Selene prompted, as Katie and Alicia showed no signs of leaving. "Umbridge was right, it is horrible weather to be outside."

"Don't agree with the _toad_ Selene…" Alicia moaned, picking up her bag. "I've got… er, History of Magic next."

"Great." Katie rolled her eyes, looking at her own timetable. "Divination for me."

"Arithmancy." Selene and Angelina chorused, smiling at the two other girls as they departed to their two lessons.

"So." Angelina said, as the two of them made their way up and back into the castle. "How did this happen then? I take it he asked you on Christmas Day then."

Selene nodded, her cheeks tingling pink. "Yes." She said slowly, nodding to corroborate this statement. "He and George took me to see their new premises first, but then he apparated us somewhere on the coast. He didn't know where."

Angelina smirked at the thought. "George…" She blushed herself, which was rare as Angelina would normally rather die before doing such a thing as blush. "George." She repeated, quickly asserting herself again. "George took me to see the premises as well, the day when we came back to school."

"So, it's happening then?" Selene said gingerly, not wanting to press the matter in case she might be wrong. "You and… George?"

Angelina scoffed. "He still hasn't plucked up the courage, apparently." She grimaced, before adding a comment idly. "Git."

"I'm sure it won't be long." Selene assured her. "I won't let him take long."

"Do you think it's two for the price of one?" Angelina asked suddenly. "You know, the twins were practically born joined at the hip. It's probably not going to be different once they're both married off."

"It'll be fine." Selene insisted. "It's not like George isn't going to marry you Ange."

Angelina shrugged, but it was clear that she didn't mind Selene's statement. "Can I be a bridesmaid?" She asked hesitantly, sounding a little uncertain about both the question and what the answer was going to be.

"You didn't have to ask." Selene said, stopping to give Angelina a quick hug. "It's pretty much given."

"Thank you." Angelina said. "My cousins are all older than me and guys, or younger than me and girls. I'm never going to get to be bridesmaid at any of their weddings."

The face of Alex swam into Selene's mind, and Selene smiled to herself. "I thought you didn't care about any of that?" She said innocently, trying to gauge her reaction.

Angelina shrugged. "It's the wedding of two of my best friends Selene." She pointed out. "I'm allowed to care about this."

* * *

"Selene?" Selene looked up from her Potions book to see Neville shifting uncomfortably in front of her. "Professor Flitwick said that you had volunteered to tutor me in Charms officially…?"

Selene, recognising his awkwardness, nodded and smiled warmly, pulling out the chair next to her. "I gave him a report on how you were doing at the end of last term, he agreed when I said that I wanted to help you more."

Neville went rather pink and mumbled something under his breath, taking out his bag and stowing it under the table whilst taking the seat Selene had pulled out. "So, I've been given this." He said slowly, taking out a piece of parchment with almost illegible calligraphy on it. "Professor Flitwick says it's the theory behind banishing charms, but I don't understand it."

Taking one look at the parchment, Selene deciphered all the numbers and squiggles, nodding when she had realised what it all meant. "He gave it to you in Peneramic Notation." She explained, when Neville looked at her relieved face quizzically. "I can read it, and so can most of the teachers at this school, but it's not normally taught at all. Come on."

She moved the parchment so it was directly between the two of them, and pointed at a number, followed by a shape. "This means the trajectory, and the complete range to the power of the magical number three." When Neville still looked confused, Selene elaborated. "The height and width of where the spell will reach to multiplied by the magical number three."

Neville nodded. "So…" His face screwed up, like he was thinking intensely. "So that means that the power of the spell determines how long it will stretch?"

"Right." Selene went on to spell out the contents of the entire parchment in terms that Neville could understand, and when she looked at her watch it was later than she had realised.

"Oh!" She exclaimed quietly. "I'm really sorry, I have to get going!"

"It's okay" Neville said quickly. "You've been here for much longer than you had to."

Selene gave him a quick flash of a smile, before picking up her books and hurrying away, checking her watch as she did.

"Woah, Cheesecake, why are you is such a rush?" George asked her, a hint of a grin in his tone as she almost walked straight into him. "Going off to meet my twin brother methinks?"

Selene blinked, and shook her head. "_Methinks?_" She repeated, more than a little confused. "Where did you get that one from?"

"A book someone leant me." George shrugged. "And I'm very ashamed of you. Freddie darling has been looking for you all day Cheesecake. And I think I know what's on his mind."

George winked, and Selene went bright red. "NO!" She blurted quickly. "Umm… no, no, I don't… think so. Anyway how are you?"

"I'm fine thank you." George said generally. "How are you?"

"Fine." Selene checked her watch, before relaxing. "Sorry." She explained to George. "I have to meet Professor Dumbledore at eight, but I misread my watch. I have an hour, not two minutes."

"Easy mistake to make." George said sarcastically, rolling his eyes before taking Selene's hand. "Come on then! We can keep dearest Freddie-Bacon waiting just a little longer!"

"Thank you." Selene said, after they had made it halfway down the hall.

George stopped in his tracks, looking at his companion in shock. "What for?" He asked. "I've done pretty much nothing."

"For helping me." Selene said, her voice soft, as she put a hand on his arm. "I know you don't think of yourself as it anymore, but you were my first friend outside of Ravenclaw for so long."

"Oh, that." George scoffed. "Thank yourself little miss sunshine. When I met you in Defence, I thought you were funny, hilarious and pretty. You helped yourself by being forward really. But you can thank me for setting you and Freddie up, no problem."

Selene smiled, taking her hand of his arm. A glimmer of the memory of her conversation with Angelina flickered through her mind, and her smile dropped. "Are you okay… with this?" She hazarded.

"With what?" George asked, confused. "With us talking? I love talking to you, by the way."

"No, not that." Selene shook her head, hiding a smile. "With… Fred and I… marrying, I guess."

"That?" George nodded. "Of course I am, what made you think I wasn't?"

Selene didn't answer, and George continued. "You will probably be a damn sight nicer than Fleur as a sister-in-law, and I know Mum is expecting lots of grandchildren from you two." When she blanched, he laughed. "I'm not kidding, unfortunately."

"I didn't think you were." Selene murmured, and George laughed again.

"Siriusly though." He said solemnly, and Selene choked on her intake of breath. "Siriusly Black though. Hey, do you think Sirius's middle name is Lee?"

Selene blinked, before shaking her head. "It's Orion, after his father." She corrected. "But I understand where you're coming from."

"Seriously." George said, his voice level. "I want your first born."

"_George_." Selene said in exasperation, trying not to giggle. "Be _Sirius_."

"See!" George waved his hands around flamboyantly. "You have a sense of humour! If you want to marry a Weasley twin, you have to have a sense of humour! And you have one! So it's fine! Of course, you also tick the boxes of _sexy, pretty, smart, _and, if what Fred tells me is right you're also-"

Selene shook her head at him. "I think that's enough." She said quickly, going pink. "Thanks though."

"It's okay." George grinned. "We just can never be _Sirius_; can we?"

"You can't." Selene shook her head, smiling all the same. "I need to ask you something else though – do you actually _like Angelina?_"

George started, but then nodded. "Of course I do." He said, a little teasingly. "Have you been living under a rock with my twin brother for the last year?"

"That's not what I mean." Selene said, biting her lip. "Are you _considering dating Angelina?_"

"Well." George bluffed, running a hand through his hair. "I guess, yes, but then again no, because I'm sure she'd say no if I-"

"Shut up." Selene said, raising her voice slightly. "Of course she'd say yes George. What is _really _the matter?"

George shrugged. "Nothing." He said simply. "I will ask her out, okay? Give me a time frame. Consider it a very late Christmas present and/or an early birthday gift."

"My birthday's not until May George." Selene answered.

"WHAT?" George blinked, as if incredibly startled. "We didn't celebrate it last year, did we? Okay. This year, it will be like all your birthdays in one." He thought for a moment, before continuing. "Okay. Give me a time frame then."

"An hour." Selene said simply, ignoring the horrified look that George gave her. "Go on then."

"I hate you." George pouted. "I should never have trusted you."

"I'm much more trustworthy than any Slytherin Georgie-pie." Selene smiled, patting his shoulder. "Go on then. Go and find Angelina."

George scowled at her once more, before hurrying away.

* * *

"OI! ANGELINA!" George yelled from the Quidditch stands. Selene looked up from her book (she had been dragged along to give him 'moral support') and shook her head, before returning to it.

"What do you want?" Angelina asked, sighing but begrudgingly flying over to where George was. "George, come on, I need to finish practice up. Can this wait?"

"No." George said, crossing his arms. "It can't."

Selene stifled a giggle, but quickly returned to her book before either of her friends could notice. "Okay, what then?"

Angelina was still hovering on her broom when George smirked and pointed his wand at his throat, muttering "_Sonorus"_.

"ANGELINA FELICITY JOHNSON!" He yelled, Selene dropping her book. Angelina looked shell-shocked, and Selene didn't even have to look to know that below her, Ginny was trying to die. "WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT DATING?"

Selene wordlessly picked up her book, and tried to run. True to form although, she tripped on one of the wooden benches and face-planted the floor of the stands.

When she had struggled back up to standing height, she turned around somewhat reluctantly to see what Angelina had transfigured him into.

Instead, she got the irreversible image of George and Angelina snogging, the latter hovering up in the air on a broomstick and the former leaning out of the stands.

Selene sighed in relief, and walked away quickly.

* * *

"Ah, Miss Malfoy." Professor Dumbledore said, before Selene had even knocked on the door to his office. "Do come in."

She pushed the door open, to see the old headmaster sitting in his normal chair, his fingers tented and a passive smile on his face. "Good evening Professor." She said, with a little smile.

"And a good evening to you, Miss Malfoy." Professor Dumbledore repeated, drawing a chair in mid-air with his wand. "Please, sit down. I have a lot to tell you."

Selene sat down, feeling a little wary of what Dumbledore needed to discuss, but calming at the calm smile on his face. "Let us begin then." He started, nodding in her direction. "Firstly, I believe congratulations are in order."

He looked at her necklace, and Selene looked down at it too, directly at where the compass charm was. Disregarding her ring (which she kept on, but disillusioned during most of the day), he leant forward, his expression changing to one of wonderment. "Would you…?"

"Of course." Selene unclasped it, and handed it to Dumbledore. "Fred and George got it for me, well, made it."

Dumbledore nodded, his expression still puzzled. "This is quite extraordinary." He said, after a few moments had passed. "Do you know where the Misters Weasley got the compass charm from originally?"

Selene shook her head. "Should I Professor?" She asked carefully, a little afraid of the answer.

"No, it's okay." Professor Dumbledore smiled down at the compass, before handing it and the necklace back to Selene. "I'm sure that this necklace will bring you much luck, on top of the charms the Weasley twins have placed on it.

Selene put the necklace back on, and Fawkes cawed out of the corner of her eye. He was magnificent today, his feather red and gold. "I know." Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "Phoenixes are amazing creatures."

"It's amazing…" Selene smiled. "Phoenixes have highly magical properties, don't they?"

"Spoken like a true Ravenclaw." Professor Dumbledore said, chucking again. "I'm afraid I have some more things to discuss with you Miss Malfoy, as lovely as it would be to discuss the Phoenix's properties."

"Of course." Selene said, nodding. "What is it Professor?"

"I need your help on something." Professor Dumbledore said, taking an old, battered diary out of one of the drawers on his desk. "You have the abilities I need for this Miss Malfoy."

He passed the diary to Selene, who picked it up cautiously. It was burnt, and smelled of charcoal, with a shining stab wound punched directly through the middle of it. "What happened to this?" She asked curiously, examining the burn marks.

"You have no doubt heard about Mr Potter's adventure in his second year." Dumbledore began. "This was the cause. I'm still slightly unsure, I was hoping if…?"

Selene picked up her wand and nodded at the headmaster. "_Ater magicae revelare_." She murmured, making a complicated pattern with her wand. Instantly the diary burned red hot, and with a yelp she dropped it. "There was…" She began, slightly shaken, as she passed the now cold diary back to the headmaster. "Very dark magic in this."

She looked down at her hand, which was shiny and red. "Thank you Miss Malfoy." Professor Dumbledore said gratefully, locking the diary away again. "Magic like that is sometimes hard to access at my age. Now."

His voice hardened, and Selene's head jerked up. "I want your assistance in one thing more." He said, his eyes and voice level. "Miss Malfoy, did Lord Voldemort ever give your family something to hold on to for him?"

Selene thought and nodded. "Yes." She said, remembering the space beneath the drawing room. She instinctively bit back bile, remembering what had once resided in there. "Lots of things."

"But a cup." Dumbledore continued. "Did Voldemort ever ask your father to hide a cup for him?"

"Yes." She nodded again, slightly confused as to his specification. "A gold one, but then… then I think my Aunt took it for safe-keeping in her vault."

"How long ago was this?" Dumbledore said, as if detecting Selene's reluctance. "Miss Malfoy, this is _extremely important_."

"A few months before Harry defeated him." Selene tried. "Or thereabouts. Why do you ask?"

Dumbledore didn't answer, instead he nodded and asked for one thing more. "I assume you know how to extract memories?" He assumed, and smiled when Selene nodded. "I would very much like it if you were to give me the memory of your aunt taking that cup for safekeeping."

His voice was low and hard, and Selene swallowed. She almost shook her head, but his eyes were cold and she could tell that whatever he needed it for, it really mattered. And so she nodded.

Once the memory was inside Dumbledore's Pensieve, and Selene could see the mad, crazed smile of her aunt inside, Dumbledore smiled again. "You have done the Wizarding World a great service." He said, his eyes twinkling. "Please wish Mr Weasley my congratulations when you see him again."

"I will." Selene answered, managing a weak smile. "Good night Professor."

"Good night, Miss Malfoy." Professor Dumbledore said, as Selene closed the office door behind herself.


	57. Chapter 56: Sleeping Through Dawn

**Thank you to The souless ones – yep, thanks.**

**To Gurl5678 – that idea is in my mind. I have a little while longer to decide, so yeah. Hope the chapter was good too!**

**dumblesbashing (PM SENT! Thank you for your two lovely reviews).**

**Blacklab369 – Yeah, but I think Fred and Selene will have a large family… if Fred survives, that is. EVIL LAUGH!**

**HT118, I'm afraid Dumbledore is still unsure, he was just trying to work out where the cup was at that point in time. And George/Angelina is one of my favourite ships, but don't expect their relationship to be linear, no sirree…**

**Dalonega Noquisi: Well, Astoria's in this chapter. But after this, she is not a main focus. So get your fill here, and conspiracy theories shall arise… Heh heh heh.**

**Finally (NEW REVIWER! WHOOP!) animesarecool, thanks for the praise. Your idea is actually amazing. But then again, I have lots and lots of possibilities on the horizon. But it is in my mental filing cabinet.**

**So, well done to dumblesbashing, my 300****th**** reviewer! They will get a one-shot for that!**

**Now that's over and done with, I have another little thing to ask you. Well, I can't draw. I just can't. I would love to, but all of those genes were given to my little sisters. **

**Can you guess? Well, I have a little question for all of you. Would anyone be willing to draw fan art for this story? Surely one of you dedicated, beautiful, hilarious (enough sucking up? Okay) reviewers, readers, favouriters and followers can draw for me? Please? PM me with a link or something, I'll probably stare at it for hours having a fangirling moment.**

**And, of course, I will worship the ground you walk on. But anyway. Fluff, smiling, memories, Harry, Neville, Astoria and more Frelene.**

**Please review!**

* * *

"Catch the silver sunlight in your hands." - Lyla by Oasis [Brought Time Flies… 1994-2009 today in Worcester (England) today!]

* * *

Chapter 56: Sleeping Through Dawn

When Selene got down to breakfast the next morning, she was met with an almost silent Great Hall. Cho and Luna weren't down yet, so she took a seat between Fred and Alicia.

"Are you all okay?" She asked confusedly, looking around at everyone's stony faces. "What's happened."

"Selene," Harry began, as he walked up with a copy of _The Daily Prophet _and a grim face. "You'd better see this."

No one complained as Harry passed Selene the newspaper. She unfolded it, and gasped when she read the headline, spread-eagled across the front page.

**MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN: MINISTER FOR MAGIC FEARS BLACK IS 'RALLYING POINT' FOR DEATH EATERS**

Her eyes flickered down to the list of names, and Selene fought the urge to vomit as a degree of recognition came with each picture, and each caption. Antonin Dolohov, the man that, along with her father and four others, brutally murdered the Prewett twins while she watched.

Selene didn't have to glance down to know that Fred had quietly slipped his hand into hers.

Then it was Augustus Rookwood, the man that was in the Department of Mysteries, except when he was in Voldemort's presence or the Manor, of course. Rabastan Lestrange, her uncle through her aunt's husband, the man that had tried to teach her how to hate.

But it was the last two names that _really _made her blood run cold. Bellatrix Lestrange, her aunt, the woman in the Azkaban jail cell, her mother's sister, the first person Selene had ever been _properly _scared of. Fred's hand squeezed her own, like he knew what she was thinking, but true terror only consumed her when she read the name beside Bellatrix's.

Rodolphus Lestrange.

Her uncle.

Her _godfather_.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked Selene, and the girl in question's head looked up from the paper and nodded, bringing the hand that wasn't being held above the table and folding the paper over, handing it back to Harry.

"I'm fine." She admitted honestly, as Harry took the paper. "It's fine, don't worry."

None of the group around her looked convinced. "Selene." Angelina started, from where she was just about sat on George's lap. "It's fine not to be okay, everyone's shaken."

Selene managed a weak smile, and shook her head. "Like I said, I'm fine." She repeated, getting more and more unsure with the answer as time ticked past. "It's okay, really."

There was a slight murmur of voices the other end of the Gryffindor table, and the group at large looked down. Neville was getting up, his feet getting tangled in his bag, whilst Dean and Seamus were talking furiously. Everyone turned to watch Neville walk, calmly but with a sense of urgency, out of the Great Hall.

Harry, Ron and Hermione all exchanged looks, but Selene, despite not knowing why Neville had walked out, stood up, quietly disentangling herself from Fred and picking up her bag. "I won't be long." She said quietly, pressing a kiss to Fred's cheek when he didn't respond.

There were eyes on her as well when Selene left, but she hardly paid any attention to them. "Neville?" She called, seeing that the Entrance Hall was empty. "Neville?"

There was no answer. Selene pulled her bag higher up and took a deep breath in. She needed to stop thinking about her godfather right now. Where would Neville be?

Then it hit her.

She went out into the cold January morning, and silently thanked someone or something that the snowstorm of yesterday night had finished and that the snow wasn't thick or densely packed on the ground. Still, she had to wrap her school robe a little more tightly around herself and rub her hands together to keep them warm.

Selene found Neville in Greenhouse 3, taking a cutting of his Bubotuber Plant, which Professor Sprout had looked after it for him over the Christmas holiday. "Neville?" She asked again, her voice softer this time.

The boy looked up in surprise, wiping at his eyes when he saw who was in the doorway. "Oh, hi." He sniffed, taking the opportunity to look around at al the plants surrounding them.

"Neville…" Selene trailed off, taking one cautious step towards him. When he made no signs of flinching or turning away, she moved closer. "Neville, what's wrong?"

She could see the expressions being rattled through on his face – disgust, disgrace, hesitation and finally realisation. "It's…" He tried to begin, but his voice got stuck in his throat. "It's… it's about Bellatrix Lestrange."

Somehow Selene wasn't surprised by this. "Okay." She said calmly, reaching out to take Neville's hand. "What is it about her?"

"She tortured my parents into insanity and put them in St. Mungo's." Neville blurted, his voice almost void of any emotion.

_"The Longbottoms?"_

_ "Better dead than alive, that's all I'm saying."_

Selene swallowed, and cautiously put an arm around Neville. He didn't shy away from her though. "It's okay." She said, feeling a little awkward. "I'm scared of my Aunt as well."

Neville looked at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes. "Your Aunt?" He said slowly, almost afraid of the answer. "Bellatrix Lestrange… is your Aunt?"

Slowly, Selene nodded. "Yes." She said, waiting for a reaction that was anything less than friendly. "She's my mother's sister, and my godmother. Rodolphus is my godfather."

"That's amazing." Neville said, still in an ordinary tone. "You're about as far from the Lestranges as you can be, Selene." His voice tensed, and Selene tensed too. "You… you don't deserve to be related to them."

"Thank you." Selene said quietly. "But all of us have darkness in us. Neville, do I look like… her?"

Neville turned to look at the girl with her hand around him. She was pretty – that was the first impression he got of her – but then, like she had asked, he looked harder.

Selene was tall, almost too much so, and she had a slightly pointed face, but not as noticeable as her brother's. Her eyes were an amazing shade of blue, with eyelids that were more heavily lidded than was standard. Her hair was brown, dark brown, slightly curly but not untamable. And, just like she had insinuated, he saw a flicker of the face of Bellatrix Lestrange hiding behind her soft eyes.

And he nodded, seeing more and more of the tyrant as moments passed. When she bit her lip, her jaw tensed for a split second, her face quickly taking on that old, hardened look that Neville associated with Death Eaters. And he had seen from DA meetings that Selene owned the old Black trait of dueling exceptionally. "Yes." He said. "A little."

Selene sighed, running her hand through her hair with the arm that wasn't around Neville. "See?" She asked quietly. "We've all got the capacity to become Death Eaters Neville, me included."

"Not you!" Neville cut in quickly. "Definitely not you, I mean, you're smart, intelligent, kind, nice, helpful, you get good grades, you're dating one of the most popular boys in Hogwarts and…" His voice dropped below the human register. "You're pretty…"

"Thanks Neville." Selene smiled, giving the younger boy a loose one-armed hug. "But some of that isn't true. Come on." She stood up, Neville following her lead. "We'd better get back to the castle, Harry, Ron, Dean and Seamus are probably worrying about you."

"I… I think I'll stay here for a little longer." Neville said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I still need to check on my plant."

Selene smiled at him once more, before leaving to go back up to the castle. Neville felt his face heat up, and he shook his head quickly, turning back to his _Mimblus Mimbletonia_. "Now, come on." He said, sticking his tongue between his teeth and reaching for one of the sharp quills he used to expel the excess slime.

* * *

"You ready?" Harry asked, pausing in front of the door to Snape's dungeon, where their Occlumency lesson was to be held. Selene nodded, and Harry knocked.

The sound echoed along the empty hallway, and it was only a matter of seconds before the cold voice of Severus Snape said; "Come in."

Harry pushed the door open, leading the way into the dungeon, where all the desks had been pushed to either side and Snape was standing at the front of the dungeon, looking just as stoic and cold as he always did. Selene saw Dumbledore's Pensieve, the same one that she had put the memory of the cup into, the far right corner of the room. "Mr Potter, Miss Malfoy." Snape sneered, gesturing for them to come and stand in front of him. "You understand what you are here to do, _is that correct_?"

Both of them nodded, but Harry clenched his jaw slightly. Snape's hand flexed, and he began to walk closer to the two of them. "Occlumency." He continued, the room deadly quiet apart from the sound of his voice. "Is the art of protecting one's mind from external penetration. Obscure, but highly regarded."

"You will say that you have remedial Potions _Potter_." Snape snapped. "If anyone is to ask why you have so many of these lessons. Anyone can see that you need them, that much is clear in your Potions classes with me."

Harry's fist clenched, and he began to open his mouth to say something, but Selene laid a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "As for you." Snape turned to Selene, his voice void of the venom it had whilst speaking to Harry. "You have the E's and O's in my classes for that explanation to become null and void for you, so you will tell everyone that you are helping me with Potter's extra classes."

"Yes Professor." Selene said quietly, sensing Harry's discomfort and giving him a small smile.

"You must not tell anyone of the true nature of these lessons, and that includes Mr Weasley and Miss Granger, Potter." Snape gave Harry a dirty look. "And your… fiancé, Miss Malfoy."

Both of them nodded, although Selene was sure that Snape already had assumed that they had both told their respective friends already.

Harry didn't seem surprised that Snape knew of Selene's engagement, but he gave Selene a swift glance that told her all she already knew. She shrugged it off. Harry's problems with Snape were one thing, but she had true reason to trust him.

"Miss Malfoy, I believe you have the background knowledge of how to repel my mind at least slightly." Snape began again, stepping back and nodding at Selene to move away from Harry. "However, the Dark Lord will not give you time to prepare. He will catch you off your guard, at any time."

Selene nodded, exhaling heavily and standing up a little taller. "I understand." She said calmly, looking Snape straight in the eye.

"On the count of three…" Snape began, pulling out his wand and taking an offensive stance. One… two… _Legilimens_!"

_…sunlight…_

_…the sea by night…_

_…I laugh as Fred picks me up and spins me around, stumbling slightly when I hit the ground…_

_…the moonlight shines off my new ring as Fred-_

_ No. _Selene thought. _Why is he going for all these emotion-inducing ones? No. Not this. Not this one._

Selene staggered backwards, gasping for breath. When she had regained her breath back, she looked up at Professor Snape, who was looking at her with something that might have been relief, or pride, or a smile. "Well done." He said, his voice still curt, but not as much as before. "That was… acceptable."

"Thank you Professor." Selene smiled, still a little out of breath. Snape called Harry forward, and Harry gave Selene a whisper of congratulations as he stepped forward in her place.

It was strange watching someone else go under the spell, Snape said the very words that he had in face of Selene, but produced the spell a little earlier, which seemed to throw Harry considerably. But it was all over and done with in a matter of a minute, although Snape did not look even half as pleased as he had after Selene had done it.

"You thought that would cut it, _Potter_?" He sneered. "Miss Malfoy was only under for 30 seconds, you was more than double that!"

"Sorry Professor!" Harry gasped, doubled over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath back.

"You'll be sorry when the Dark Lord gets full access to your mind." Snape snapped, turning to Selene. "Miss Malfoy; lets go again."

The rest of the lesson continued like that, Snape giving Selene cursory praise after many of her attempts, although as the night drew on it became harder and harder for her to keep concentration long enough to deflect the spell. Harry was worse, his time extending to five minutes after three hours of the grueling practice.

But finally Snape let them both go, after more than four hours. It was nearing midnight when Selene said goodbye to Harry outside Gryffindor tower, and she had to duck into many empty classrooms (using Fred and George's mantra of 'never get caught') to avoid Filch and Mrs. Norris.

She didn't really expect to find Fred waiting for her outside Ravenclaw tower, the painting of Rowena Ravenclaw fast asleep above him. "Selene!" He exclaimed, in a hushed exclamation, standing up when he saw her approach. "How did it go?"

"It was fine." Selene said, blinking and shaking her head. "Why are you here? It's past midnight Fred, what have you been doing for the last four hours?"

"Waiting." Fred said, like it was obvious. "For you. Why? Can't a guy wait for his beautiful fiancée?"

Selene smiled, getting a little thrill when he said 'fiancée'. "I just thought you'd have better things to do though." She admitted. "Where's George, for one thing?"

"Angelina." Fred said, by way of an explanation. "Making up for lost time, I think. Ooh, that reminds me!" He added suddenly. "Well done for getting the happy couple together! What was the prize, again?"

"I didn't think there was one." Selene said, readily confused. "At all. I thought it was just given."

Fred grinned, reaching out and grabbing her arm. "Nah." He said, smirking. "I think the prize was a choice between Lee, or me."

"I'll go with Lee then." Selene teased, smiling and shaking him off. "I really need to sleep Fred, I've been with Snape for ages. He wouldn't stop, even after I almost fell over."

"You'll tell me if it's getting too much, won't you?" Fred asked, only relaxing when Selene nodded. "And come on. It's much easier to relax with me around, you know that."

Selene coughed, and tried to nod. "Yep, sure." She said, shaking her head. "Keep telling yourself that _Freddie_."

"That nickname doesn't work any more." Fred said conversationally. "I rather like it when you say it, love."

Selene rolled her eyes, and gave him a loose hug. "I've had a bit of a rubbish day." She admitted. "I need some sleep Fred, and I'm never going to get it with you around, as much as I love you. _Goodnight_."

She turned around, and swore under her breath when she saw that the painting was asleep. Fred looked hilariously smug as he held one of his hands out, which Selene took, albeit reluctantly.

* * *

The sunlight broke through Selene's eyelids the next morning, and she sighed, rolling over and trying to go back to sleep.

Unfortunately that plan was scrapped when her head hit a desk. Her eyes shot open, and she tried to make sense of what exactly she was seeing.

"Huh?" She said, looking around in general astonishment. "What happened?"

"You got locked out of Ravenclaw tower love." Selene turned around, to see Fred, looking incredibly smug as he sat on top of the desk she had hit her head on, his legs swinging. "And, of course, the next best opportunity was a classroom."

"Urgh." Selene muttered, standing up and brushing her hair out of her face. "Why couldn't you carry me back to Gryffindor tower or something?" She asked, massaging the crick in her neck.

"You're too heavy." Fred explained, jumping down from his desk. "And you refused to walk."

Selene sighed, looking at the sunlight through the window. "What time is it?" She asked, noting that her watch wasn't on her wrist – which wasn't surprising, given that she had been at a 'helping Harry' class for most of last night.

"Just past seven." Fred said calmly, and taking her hand. "Couldn't have you missing classes, could I? I know how much they mean to you." He added sarcastically, before inhaling sharply. "Oh, wait! Do you love classes more than me?"

Selene rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "No." She said, sighing. "I love you much more than classes, don't worry Freddie."

Fred leant in and kissed her. "I love it when you call me that." He used as a simple explanation. "It's cute. You don't have pet names for George, or Angelina or- wait, yes you do."

"You're rambling." Selene smiled, her mind going back to that night, and her hand went to her neck, feeling the cold metal of the compass charm beneath her palm. "Again. You do that a lot."

"Well, so do you love." Fred grinned. "It's part of my natural charm."

* * *

Astoria curled up, and took out the letter she had received that morning from her mother. She smiled; Daphne had received one herself, and they had both agreed that to wait until they were out of sight of their respective friendship groups would be best in this instance.

But the contents of it… it only took a preliminary glance for Astoria to lose her grip on the letter and let it flutter to the ground.

Selene was completing yet another piece of work needed for Potions – Snape had started to give his N.E.W.T. level class even more since the Occlumency lessons had commenced – when Astoria ran in like the hounds of Grindleward were after her.

"Are you okay?" Selene asked, pushing her work to one side as Astoria came closer, and she could begin to see the dried tears on her face. "Tori, please. What's happened? What's the matter?"

"Please." Astoria's voice cracked. "It's… its Daphne."

Selene had met Daphne Greengrass only a handful of times before, but Astoria's stricken voice told her that she was maybe the only person the younger girl knew to turn to. "What is it?" She asked, standing up and letting Astoria tug her out of the library and down the staircase. "Astoria, I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Astoria stopped still in the middle of the staircase, her shoulders beginning to shake with sobs. "It's not fair!" She cried, letting herself be hugged close by Selene. "It's not fair, why is it Papa?"

Mr. Greengrass? Selene remembered the kindly man all too well. The man that had treated her more kindly than anyone else ever had. Her blood froze in her veins. What was wrong? What was making the normally strong Astoria crumble?"

"Tori." She said quietly, turning the girl to face her. "Please, trust me. I need to go and find someone, someone else that can help. I swear that I will be back Tori. You have my word."

Astoria nodded through her tears, brushing them away as fast as they came falling down. "Please…" He voice cracked again. "Please hurry. I don't know…"

Selene didn't let her finish the sentence, instead giving the younger girl one last hug and running.

"Professor!" She called, startling Snape, who looked up in surprise. "Professor, please, it's important!"

Snape sighed wearily. "I seriously hope it is, for your sake." He snapped. "I have lots of marking to complete Miss Malfoy, I have no time for… petty arguments or excuses."

"It's Astoria Greengrass." Selene said calmly, watching Snape's stoic expression change. "And her sister, she came to me, I don't know what the matter is, but-"

"It's okay." Snape stood up abruptly. "You did right to come to me Miss Malfoy. Thirty points to Ravenclaw."

Selene stood there, staring at him, before Snape gave a funny little jerk of his head and beckoned for her to follow him.

"Hey, it's okay Tori." Selene said, once the girl came into hearing view again. "Tori, it's fine. I've got Professor Snape, he's going to sort it all out, okay?"

"MISS MALFOY!" Selene's head jerked up again, and saw Umbridge stalking towards the little group. Snape groaned, and Astoria whimpered. Umbridge smiled toothily as she neared, looking from Professor Snape, to Astoria, to Selene. "I need a word with you."

Selene looked quickly at Astoria, but Professor Snape laid one hand on the younger girl's shoulder, nodding discreetly at Selene. So she swallowed, and nodded reluctantly. "Yes Professor." She said, trying to keep her voice level.

"Good." Umbridge turned to Astoria and Snape. "Severus, I hope nothing… _untoward _is going on."

"Of course not Dolores." Snape snapped. "I am about to escort Miss Greengrass back to her common room, that is all."

With that, he left, Astoria smiling through her fingers at Selene.

Then Selene was alone, with the very person she didn't want to be alone with. "My office." Umbridge said curtly, before walking away, her heels clicking on the floor.

Pink made Selene feel sick, she decided.

Especially the combination of pink and kittens.

"Tea, Miss Malfoy?" Umbridge said, breaking the spell. Selene shook her head. Umbridge smiled, with no humour in her voice. "But I insist."

Selene watched as the brown liquid came out of the teapot, and the milk that went into it too. Then Umbridge pushed the teacup over to her, with another toothy grin. "Thank you, Professor." Selene forced herself to say.

"That's quite alright." Umbridge said, sitting back down in her chair. "Drink up Miss Malfoy. Drink up."

Selene raised the cup to her lips, but made sure none of the liquid made it into her mouth. Mad-Eye would be proud. Never trust a woman dressed entirely in pink. "What did you want to talk to me about Professor?"

"A few things, in fact. Drink up, drink up." Umbridge repeated, her smile dropping. "I was wondering Miss Malfoy. I have… well, a little extra-curricular opportunity up for grabs. Would you like to join us?"

Suppressing a shudder, Selene shook her head. "I have more than enough work, I'm afraid." She said truthfully.

"Is that so?" Umbridge said, smiling with as much nicety as a Grindylow. "Well, I'm afraid Miss Malfoy, you may be passing up an opportunity to… ah, receive a little… help, let's put it."

Despite herself, Selene sat up straighter. Umbridge nodded, like she could read Selene's mind. "Yes, quite so Miss Malfoy." She said, smiling again. "If you join this little venture, then I will be quite prepared to give you a letter of recommendation to the Head of the Committee on Experimental Charms. That is where you would like to work, is it not?"

Selene nodded, lifting the teacup to her lips. "I'm afraid the answer is still no." She insisted.

Umbridge stood up, with a sour expression on her face. "I have another question for you." She snapped. "Is there another organisation?"

Selene forced a look of complete surprise onto her face, and shook her head. "I'm sorry Professor, I know nothing about any organisation of any kind."

"Thank Salazar you're here!" Astoria said, as Selene walked into Professor Snape's office, as she had been instructed. "Oh, Selene, it's… it's really bad."

Selene gave the younger girl a hug, and looked around the room. Most were looking at her in surprise, but none in disgust. There was Tracey Davies – one of the few Slytherin's who were not Pureblood – who smiled weakly when Selene looked her way. Professor Snape was behind his desk, furiously filling in a form, who gave Selene nothing more than a nod when he saw her walk in.

Daphne was curled up on the floor by the wall, her knees tucked up to her chest. The boy who was kneeling beside her looked up, and when he saw Selene his eyes widened.

"Is she supposed to be here?" He asked, his tone not unkind, and his face softened when Astoria nodded. "Malfoy, Professor Snape says you know how to resurface from panic attacks."

Selene's eyes widened to match Zabini's, but she nodded. "Sure." She said, her voice cracking. "Would you two mind if I…?"

"Please." Tracy asked, her voice pleading. "We can't snap her out of it. Astoria said before that she'd met you in the Hospital Wing after you had an attack like this. Can you help?"

"Of course." Selene moved forward, so Daphne was right in front of her. Her long, blonde hair was hanging in a dull curtain around her face, and she was shuddering and jittering. "Daphne."

Daphne didn't respond to her name, not even a twitch. Selene laid one hand on the girl's arm, but still there was no response. "You don't know me very well, but I'm Draco's sister Selene." Her arm twitched beneath Selene's hand. "You remember me? We met a long time ago, at one of my mother's get-togethers." Another twitch. "Daphne, we need to you snap out of this. You have to be smarter than this, I know how it feels to feel like you're alone."

The room had turned deathly silent. Selene bit her lip, but continued. "I know how you feel about the choices I've made Daphne, and that you don't want me anywhere near you, but I can help you. Please, Daphne."

Daphne still didn't respond. "Stand aside, Miss Malfoy." Snape cut in, his voice calmer and softer than Selene had ever heard it. She might have hazarded to say that he sounded… caring? But when Selene stalled, he easily snapped again. "Stand aside I say!"

Selene did as she was asked, walking back over to Astoria. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly, only relaxing when Astoria nodded, somewhat reluctantly. Then she turned back around to see Snape kneeling where Selene had been, quietly giving Daphne a potion that was a dreamy blue colour – a Calming Drought.

Her shudders stopped, and Daphne relaxed considerably. Astoria ran to her older sister, and Tracey and Zabini stepped back away from her. "Thank you." Snape said curtly, turning to Selene. "You managed to calm Miss Greengrass enough that I could give her the drought. Take another fifteen points to Ravenclaw."

He was oddly generous in the way that this wasn't accompanied by a grimace or a sneer. Selene left rather quickly after that, sensing that she had outstayed her welcome a little. No one wanted to answer her questions, and Astoria – who had been her main concern – seemed perfectly fine now her sister was calm.

"Where have you been?" Fred asked Selene, as she walked up to him in the courtyard and slipped her hand into his. "We've been waiting for ages."

Selene bit her lip, and suddenly shrugged. "It's okay." She said, not really trusting her own words. "It doesn't matter right now, anyway. Where is everyone else?"

"George got bored, and Alicia shoved snow down his neck." Fred said, by way of an explanation, accompanied by a grin. "So, naturally, I stayed behind, just like last night, to keep an eye out for you love."

"Sorry." Selene apologised, biting her lip. "Something… something came up."

"Oh, it's okay." Fred shrugged. "It's all over now, isn't it?"

Selene nodded. "I hope so." She echoed, before smiling. "Come on. I think George will murder us if we stay out of it any longer."

"I concur." Fred responded, in a posh tone. He held his arm out, clicked his heels together and bowed. "Milady?"

Laughing, Selene took his arm and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks _Freddie_."

When he kissed her, her worries about Daphne and Astoria drifted away. George and the rest could wait a little longer.

**I have only one thing more to say to all of you.**

**A HAPPY WHODAY TO ONE AND ALL!**

**Eleanor xxx**

**(P.S. I'm almost at 50k views!)**


	58. Chapter 57: Wishes Do Come True

**Woo hoo! Hey everyone!**

**I am very happy today, I think it's the ridiculous amount of fluff in this chapter, but I'm not sure. After all, fluff is okay when Fred and George will be off in about 2 chapters. And I was bitten by a FLUFF BUNNY! Cheeky bugger.**

**Thanks and cookies to The souless ones (I give up.)**

**Dalonega Noquisi – Aw, thanks. Your review made me fangirl a little. A LITTLE. OKAY, A LOT!**

**Dumblesbashing – och eye (Scottish again), one-shot on it's merry way! Happy WhoDay for Saturday! More PinkWald (my DW OTP, by the way)!**

**HT188 – well. Mr Greengrass won't be touched on for a while, but it will be solved, no problem. **

**Gurl5678 – sorry about the wait, but I was in two minds about canon and eventually decided to… mould it a little.**

**bellatrixD, thank you for your major support! (I still hate P.E., and as I want to be an Astrophysicist, I doubt it'll be useful! And there's a **_**lot **_**of Frelene here.)**

**And HayleyGoth (like your new username), thank you. For everything, the praise, the school well wish (half-term next week – yay!). The question? Well, I tend to get really into my writing, and I like to set myself AT LEAST a 4000 word goal each chapter. I'm sorry; I don't really have an explanation. I just really enjoy writing, I guess.**

**There's a second authors note at the end of the chapter – VERY VERY IMPORTANT! Please read it.**

* * *

"Talking away, I don't know what I'm to say, I'll say it anyway, today isn't my day to find you, shying away, I'll be coming for your love, okay?" Take On Me by A-HA

* * *

Chapter 57: Wishes Do Come True

The next few days passed quickly. On Saturday, Ravenclaw played their first match against Hufflepuff (which they won 310-200), and that pacified Cho from fangirling whenever she saw Selene in the corridors.

Selene had managed to avoid her brother and the other Slytherins, although she was sure that Draco suspected at least something, if not exactly what had occurred. Astoria was a lot more jumpy around school, and she hadn't seen Daphne in days. But luckily Fred hadn't questioned a thing when she gingerly approached him, asking if he could query his father to ask him if their father was all right.

"Dad says he hasn't seen Mr Greengrass in a while." Fred said, passing the parchment to Selene, who took it numbly. "But then again, they work in completely different departments to one another. Selene, I'm sure he's fine."

Selene nodded, not truly convinced, and scanned the letter for herself. The outline was as Fred had described, a confession that Mr Greengrass wasn't among people Mr Weasley routinely worked with.

_He's a lovely man. _Mr Weasley had written. _I don't know much of his wife, but Gregory Greengrass is polite to me, and we had a very nice conversation about Muggles once._

_Please tell Selene not to worry; goodness knows we could all do with a little less worrying nowadays. Molly is still worried about your brother, as the conditions with Fudge as Minister are still horrendous, and now Percy actively avoids me in the halls._

_ Your mother would like to remind the two of you that your NEWTs are very important for your future, and please say hello to Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny for us as well._

_ Much love,_

_ Dad_

"Thanks for trying." Selene said thankfully, passing the letter back to its original recipient. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

Fred nodded, folding up the letter and pocketing it. "How's your work getting on?" He asked, referring to it as a collective mass, rather than just picking up 'NEWTs' or 'Charms referral'.

"I think I'm finally on top of it all." Selene admitted, smiling at Fred. "It took a little while, and a few sleepless nights, but I'm definitely better off due to it."

"Sleepless nights?" Fred sighed. "Selene, you need to calm down a bit. Tell Professor Flitwick to calm your work load down a bit, or we'll end up with another incident like the DA meeting."

"Like I said, I'm on top of it all." Selene insisted. "You don't need to worry about me. And I can't ask Professor Flitwick to calm it down, or then I'll never get all the needed paperwork and coursework done before school finishes. The lessons are going well too, so you don't need to worry about that."

"Well, how much _have _you got done?" Fred asked sceptically, raising his eyebrows when Selene counted up to at least eight on her fingers. "See? How much time do you have left, and how much coursework? You'll be fine 'Lene."

Selene nodded, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I sometimes don't know where I'd be without you." She admitted. "Probably…"

She was quiet for a while, before Fred picked up the sentence. "Married to Nott, a Death Eater and stuck at your old Manor house." He said grimly, before picking up her hand. His eyes scanned the neat handwriting carved into her skin, and covered her hand with his own. "But you're not." He said, in a happier tone. "And you won't be. Because when we get out of here, I'll be running a joke shop, you'll be in Experimental Charms, and we'll be having to get my mother off our backs while she tries to plan a huge wedding for both of us."

"Still thinking about eloping then?" Selene smiled up at him, and pressed a kiss to his jaw. "You know I pretty much don't care what you want to do, as long as it doesn't involve Dungbombs."

Fred sagged. "Got me there." He pouted. "What if it involves bright green dress robes?"

"I can deal with them." Selene smiled again. "I think your mother would kill you if you did wear bright green to your wedding though."

"She would." Fred stated, as if thinking deeply. "Hey, tell you what, we move to Belgium, get some guy to marry us over there then lock Mum in the Burrow until she calms down."

"That's actually vaguely strange." Selene wrinkled her nose. "Locking your own mother in her own house? She'd find a way out just to whack you with a frying pan and you know it Fred."

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Someone screamed, and both of them sat upright in alarm. The figure of Professor Trelawney ran into the courtyard, her trunks and bags following after her. A load of students flowed in as well, eyeing the spectacle as if it was a freak show.

"What's happening?" Selene asked Lee, as they walked over to where all the commotion was occurring. "Is everyone okay?"

Lee gestured grimly to the mess in front of them. "See for yourself." He said darkly. "Umbridge finally passed what she's been threatening."

Selene turned to where Lee had gestured, and stifled a gasp in her hand. Professor Trelawney was laid on the ground in the courtyard, her tearful eyes magnified many times by her spectacles. Her bags were strewn around her, and Umbridge was bearing down, a framed piece of parchment in her chubby hands and a sadistic smile on her face.

"What are you doing Dolores?" Professor McGonagall said, walking briskly onto the scene. "Come on Sybil, there we go."

She helped Trelawney up to her feet, giving Umbridge a discarding glance. "Educational Decree-" Umbridge began, but then a booming voice rose above both women.

"I understand that I still have the power to keep teachers resident in my school." Professor Dumbledore said, walking into the courtyard, his glasses perched on the end of his nose. "Due to that, I see no reason to kick Sybil out. Minerva, if you would…?"

"Of course Albus." McGonagall said warmly, gesturing with her wand to pick Trelawney's bags up, and they floated after the pair. Dumbledore disappeared soon after, and Umbridge hurriedly shooed the students away, with a horrendous expression on her toad-like face.

"…Wow." George said, after Umbridge was out of earshot. "McGonagall kicks arse."

"Yeah." Fred echoed, and Angelina and Selene shared a look, both privately agreeing.

_But, _Selene thought to herself, _if Umbridge has the power to dispose teachers from the school next, what does she have up her sleeve for us now?_

* * *

As a general rule, Selene had never actively enjoyed Valentine's Day. Cho had always loved it – but then again, she had had boyfriends on the go for the whole time she had known Selene – but for Selene, it was an opportunity to get her work done, and not be disturbed.

This year was a little different. Selene half-expected to wake up to find half the Greenhouses next to her bed, but luckily Fred possessed enough sense to know better than to do such a thing.

"I still can't really believe it." Cho said dumbly, sighing and staring into the distance. "Harry asked me to Hogsmede…"

"You've said that already." Selene pointed out, taking the opportunity to try and sneak out of the dormitory before Cho could notice. "Um… I'll see you soon Cho."

When she turned to leave, the door slammed shut. "Oh, you're not getting away that easily." Cho said, her dreamy expression changed to a purposeful one.

Selene gulped.

When she made it down to the Great Hall, almost an hour after she had originally planned, it looked like many of the female population of Hogwarts had had the same idea as Cho.

There was so much lipstick, short skirts and compact mirrors everywhere Selene turned, which made her feel like she was in the middle of a very bad Wizarding dramatic comedy.

"You okay?" Fred said, not looking up from his breakfast as Selene approached. "Cho get to you again?"

"That she did." Lee smirked, looking Selene up and down approvingly. "Say, Selene, do you have a secret twin sister anywhere? I could do with a double of you…" He trailed off, giving her a seductive smile. "Or, just ditch ginger and come to Hogsmede with me."

"Hands off my fiancée." Fred said, finally looking up and throwing a piece of bacon at Lee, who caught it in his mouth like a seal. Then his eyes flickered to Selene, and he grinned. "I only hope our kids look as great as you do today Selene."

Selene blanched, and sat down a little self-consciously opposite Fred. "Please, enough with the chat-up lines."

"Aw, I had an entire day planned just full of them." Fred pouted. "Seriously though love, you look beautiful. Not that you don't normally!" He added quickly. "You're always beautiful."

"Please, don't flirt around me." Lee grimaced, taking a huge gulp of his pumpkin juice as if to take away the taste. "Single man here. Not that I wouldn't appreciate a lady."

He looked up and down the Gryffindor table at this point, his eyes landing on Leanne, who was eating breakfast with Katie. "Let's go." Fred said, in an undertone to Selene. "It's going to get nasty."

"Okay." Selene said, getting back to her feet and subconsciously pulling the hem of her dress down a little. "I feel like a Hippogriff dressed as a Plimpy."

"Like I said, you're beautiful." Fred repeated, slipping an arm around her wait. "Remind me to owe Cho one for transforming my caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly."

Selene smiled, and shook her head. "Let's just go." She suggested. "Before you make any more animal analogies."

It was still rather cold, despite the rather rapid transformation of the season into spring, and Fred almost immediately wrapped his scarf around Selene's neck, before they even got to the edge of the grounds. "Goes with your dress love." He said quietly, pausing to kiss her softly. "How many of my scarves do you have now?"

"Just the two." Selene smiled back, fingering the material of the scarf. "Funnily enough, a rather handsome Gryffindor gave me the other one as well."

"Oh, I see." Fred said, a slightly evil glint in his eyes. "And tell me, when this handsome Gryffindor gave you his scarf, did you think that you were going to marry him someday?"

Selene blushed, and shook her head. "I… I thought he was a bit arrogant, to be honest." She admitted, smiling as Fred shook his head fervently. "But I definitely liked him, anyway."

"Well, we can't all have everything, I suppose." Fred sighed dramatically, pulling Selene in closer to him. "Come on. The old standby I guess first? Acid Pops, Chocolate Frogs, Zonko's and The Three Broomsticks?"

Selene nodded, and concentrated on not tripping over her own or Fred's feet, as Fred seemed adamant to keep them stuck together like Spellotape as they walked.

There was something vaguely peaceful about knowing that Umbridge was back in the school, they didn't have to worry about joke shops and detentions and homework and exams for a few hours, George wasn't anywhere to be seen; so he couldn't yell at them to stop being so flirtatious, and that the entire world seemed to be silent except for the crunching of frost beneath their feet.

It was times like this that made Selene well and truly glad of what she had been given so far in life. And so she smiled again, allowed Fred to try and drag her even more closely to him, and wrapped her right arm around his waist, like he was doing to her. "You okay?" He asked her.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She replied, smiling up at him as she did. "Why do you ask?"

"You're very quiet." Fred shrugged, biting his lip. Selene poked him in the cheek when he did that, a much more amused smile breaking out on her face. "What was that for?"

"You bit your lip." Selene explained simply. "I wanted to call you out on that, since you've been denying that you do for months, especially to George."

Fred scoffed. "I don't deny it!" He insisted. "I mean, urgh, is this normal behaviour for when you date someone? You start acting like them?"

"I wouldn't know." Selene confessed. "You're my first boyfriend."

"And your last." Fred reminded softly, slowing down to give her a hug. "I guess, if we're coming clean, I've had three official girlfriends and a few broom closet escapades."

"That is definitely a mental picture I could do without." Selene laughed. "I kissed Roger Davies, back in third year, but that's it."

"Beautifully inexperienced." Fred sighed, a little dreamily. "Basically, it was you, Angelina for six months, then a Hufflepuff in fifth year called Clara. I won't go through the… er, escapades as I'd be here all night."

"It's okay, I know you snogged half our year." Selene smiled again. "Back in the day."

"Now I spend half my free time snogging you." Fred grinned. "See, look what you did to me 'Lene! Changed me from a sexy womaniser into some kind of lovesick idiot!"

Selene shook her head in exasperation. "I sometimes don't know how I fell in love with you sometimes Frederick Gideon Weasley." She sighed, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

"It's easy, Selene Narcissa Malfoy." Fred said pompously, moving his arm from her waist to her shoulders. "You took one look at me, thought that I was as handsome, funny, amazing, smart and cool as I appeared."

"Don't push it."

"Wasn't trying to."

* * *

"See this cookie?" Fred held up the cookie he was holding, and Selene giggled. "This is the World. Now, this Butterbeer is the Wizarding World."

He pushed his flagon over to the cookie, and placed one next to the other. "I still don't understand." Selene admitted, hiding her laugh in her hand. "For one thing, if we're scaling it down, I think the Wizarding World is much smaller than your Butterbeer."

"Stop undermining your brilliant boyfriend." Fred grimaced, shaking his head at Selene exaggeratedly. "You explain it, if you're so clever."

"It's funny watching you struggle." Selene shrugged, taking a bite of her white chocolate cookie.

"Ah, Miss Malfoy!" Selene flinched, looking up from her fiancé's face, her eyes widening as she saw a person that she definitely had never wanted to meet directly.

Rita Skeeter.

She was looking much less worse for wear than her pictures and photographs suggested, with dark sags under her eyes, but all the same, her eyes were alight with something and she had a notebook clutched in one hand. Selene blinked at the newcomer, silently sagging when Rita's mouth opened once again.

"What about a feature special?" She suggested, her eyes still alight. "I can see it now. 'The Malfoy Who Fell From Grace'… The front headline of _The Daily Prophet-_"

"No." Hermione cut in quickly, giving Rita a venomous glare. "Remember what I said, one wrong quote and the truth's out. You okay Selene?"

"Fine." Selene said, her eyes stull wide. "And… er, I think I'll pass Miss Skeeter-"

"Then what about-" Rita began again, but Hermione dragged her away, casting an apologetic glance at Fred and Selene. Rita looked behind them too, obviously desperate to get that feature special, but Hermione was too fast.

"I don't know what that was about." Fred said, after a pause. "'The Malfoy Who Fell From Grace'… that sounds like a disease, not a headline."

Selene smiled, and shrugged. "I don't know either." She admitted. "Although I guess a writer who's been out of work for months would want a feature special from a controversial source, especially if it would be worth a lot of money."

The door to The Three Broomsticks swung open again, and a slightly ruffled Harry walked in. Hermione waved from the table she had taken in the corner, with a grumpy looking Rita Skeeter, and he began to walk over to her.

"And I think we've found her source." Fred noted, with a meaningful glance to the corner table, and then to Harry. "It's good Harry's getting his story out, I just hope people will believe him."

"Hermione's smart, anyone will believe anything Rita writes." Selene pointed out. "It's a fool-proof scheme, just about."

Fred nodded, looking to where Rita had got her quill out. "At least you stopped undermining me."

"Um…" Selene and Fred looked up again, this time seeing Hermione standing in front of them. "Hi, sorry to intrude-"

"'Ssh fines." Fred said muffled, as he had just taken a mouthful of his cookie/Muggle World.

"Finish your mouthful before talking." Selene chastised, slapping him lightly with her hand, before turning to Hermione. "You okay Hermione?"

"Harry thinks to have a little bit of perspective from you would be good." Hermione admitted, looking a little shifty. "As a daughter of one of Voldemort's inner circle, especially."

Selene looked at Fred, who nodded, swallowing and giving her thumbs up. "I'm coming with you though." He said, his expression turning sour instantly. "I don't trust Rita Skeeter."

"Ooh, this is interesting!" Rita Skeeter said smiling broadly. "One future branch off of the Weasley family-" Hermione went red and coughed, Harry swallowed, and Fred took Selene's hand under the table. "-Or not, of course. Right, Harry, what exactly happened that night?"

* * *

**Harry Potter Speaks Out About You-Know-Who And 'The Night I Saw Him Return'**

**Including an insight from the daughter of one of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's biggest supporters. **

"Daddy didn't mention your name." Luna said quietly, smiling dreamily. "I think that's for the best, it could be anyone now."

Selene didn't choose to mention that hardly any Death Eaters had families, and the ones that did had mostly sons, not daughters, she elected not to and instead smiled. "Thank you Luna." She said thankfully, flicking to the page that the interview was on.

She skipped over Harry's insight, having heard it all word-for-word, and flickered her gaze down to the lower half of the double-page spread.

_Exclusive insight:_

"_It was never easy." Our informant tells me. "I saw many things that I know shouldn't be repeated, ever, and I'm incredibly lucky to not be a Death Eater myself."_

_For, our informant had found a way out of all of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's propaganda, and she dedicates this to her fiancé-_

Selene gasped, scanning the rest of the short segment, and growing sick with fear as she did. Although not many people would know who the article was referring to (thank Godric for Xenophilius Lovegood), when she looked over at the Slytherin table almost by accident, her eyes met with those of her brother's for the first time in nearly two months. And by his icy glare, and the curt way he looked towards Pansy Parkinson when he saw her looking at him, Draco knew, and that meant that the rest of the school wouldn't be far behind.

"Are you okay?" Cho asked, leaning over Luna. "Well done Luna, the interview's brilliant!"

Normally Selene would be shocked to hear Cho speak so friendly to Luna, as, after all, Cho was one of the first to coin the term 'Looney Lovegood', but she was still shell-shocked by the contents of the article. "Cho…" She said slowly, pointing to the three paragraphs that encompassed the entirety of her interview with Rita Skeeter. "Cho, look…"

Cho scanned where Selene was pointing, her eyes going wide when she saw what was being pointed out. "Oh, no…" She echoed, looking over to the Slytherins too. "I thought you said…"

"Rita Skeeter worked it out, it's not Hermione's fault." Selene said quickly, sensing what Cho was about to exclaim. "And, well, everyone was bound to find out… eventually."

"Yes, _but not like this!_" Cho whispered shrilly. "At least I know what Harry was up to when he abandoned me for Hermione."

"Cho, you know Harry." Selene cut in, before Cho could begin to verbally abuse one of her other best friends. "It'll be fine, okay?"

"Umbridge is talking to Harry now." Luna said dreamily, and Selene's interest faded from Cho and snapped to the younger girl. "She looks really angry… It worked then!"

Luna skipped off to deliver some more magazines, leaving Selene in a state of nervous shock.

* * *

By lunchtime, there was a new Educational Decree on the now almost-full wall outside Umbridge's office.

_Educational Decree No. 27_

_Any Student Found _

_In Possession Of_

_The Magazine_

'_The Quibbler'_

_Will Be_

_Expelled_

"That's good." Selene said to Fred, George and Angelina as they walked past it. "Now the news will get around faster."

Then she went back to studying her books that she was holding. George and Angelina shared a look, while Fred just looked worried. It had been like this all day. They'd be chatting about something or other, and Selene would occasionally make a comment, before going silent again.

It was almost like having the 'old Selene' back, the one that was much too timid to say anything in a conversation held between more than three people, and the one that had got on the bad side of Fred so easily when he bumped into her, all that time ago.

"Look, Selene." Fred said quietly, pulling him and his fiancée out of the way of the flow of people and onto an empty classroom. "'Lene, you're being really quiet, all of a sudden. What's the matter love?"

Selene shook, and she anxiously fiddled with the ring that was Disillusioned, but still firmly on her finger. Then she bit her lip, and she could see Fred getting more worried by the second. Was it all just about the article, and the slip-up? Truly, was that all she was worried about?

When the first tears came, it was more than easy to just collapse on the floor, her books spilling around her, having fallen from her arms. Six months worth of overwork, sadness, misery and fear overcame her, and before she knew it Fred was sitting next to her, his arms around her shoulders, his left hand rested over her own.

It was so trivial, every little matter, but linked together they created some type of whirl storm of emotions. Every pushed-away thought, every silent worry and anxiety, came crashing down on her, and it almost felt like she was drowning. It wasn't as simple as with Voldemort's intrusions, being able to push him away with her newly acquired Occulmency and kissing the boy – no, the man with his arms around her.

"It's okay…" Fred said quietly into her hair, kissing her temple. "Let it all out."

And she just sobbed, tears pouring down her face onto her papers and her books scattered around them, and all the while she just let the oppressed wonderings throw her logic, her mind, and her barriers to the wind.

"I-I-I-I-I…" She stuttered, her mouth and her tongue not properly forming the words she so desperately needed to say. Selene had felt like this before, of course, but she had never felt that there was anyone to truly confide in at the time, but even now, with the person she trusted the most letting her cry on him, she couldn't let the words flow like they needed to.

"Scared?" Fred asked her quietly, and Selene nodded, exhaling softly.

To the majority of the Hogwarts student population, Fred Weasley was the quintessential 'bad boy', the guy who was smart and did absolutely nothing with it, the guy who never did his homework and had only three OWLs to speak of. He was always unreachable, untouchable, and when you though you'd nabbed him he'd sneak away.

Selene knew she had broken a very long, very repetitive pattern. Maybe it was the fact that Fred realised his feelings before she did, and that made him chase her, even though he had to have known that she saw him as more than a friend. And, in the process, she had the privilege of being his one and only.

He wasn't just the 'bad boy', the guy with bad grades and numerable detentions, and the culprit when you came along a bad smell and dripping slime in the Slytherin dungeons. Selene knew this, and saw the better side of him every day, and, if it was possible, loved him even more for it.

Fred Weasley was the man who would wait for her outside Ravenclaw Tower every night that she had extra lessons, the person that met her in the morning with a grin, a kiss and a long monologue about how much he hated Umbridge/Snape/Trelawney. And he was the guy that would wait for her, as long as she took to let her true feelings out, and he would never give up on her. Not many people got to see this side of the Gryffindor prankster, and the ones that did were trusted beyond levels that you could imagine.

Selene nodded, unable to encompass all she was thinking in one word or gesture. "W-w-w…" She stuttered, again, blushing deeply when her voice shook even after she had finished attempting to speak.

"It's okay." Fred said for her, kissing her temple once more, and smiling when Selene slumped into him. "Love, 'Lene, it's okay. It's fine to be worried about everyone."

She loved him for what he said then too. 'Everyone'… A person that didn't know her as well might believe that she was only worried about them as a couple, or two people at a pinch, but Fred knew better and would never let her forget it.

Draco, with his grey, trusting eyes, and the look in them when he realised just why his adored elder sister had been avoiding him.

Selene knew what she had done, and her heart could barely let her cope with it. He could have been like her, a runaway from their family; free from the bonds their parents had forged for them in green fire, she could have taken him too, when she left, when she fled. And now… what she had done… Draco was as good as dead now. She could barely do anything to save him.

"I almost did it, you know." Selene said, once her body had stopped shaking and the pair of them were silent once again. "I was going to leave the night after the DA meeting, go to my parents, let them marry me off."

This hovered in the air, before something extinguished it. "'Lene." Fred said quietly, whispering yet still more than audible to Selene. "'Lene, love, Draco… it wasn't your fault. I know how much you care and worry about him, but sometimes…"

"I could have tried." Selene said hollowly, taking a sharp breath in and smelling vanilla and gunpowder. "I know, Fred… I just… w-wish…"

"I have a wish." Fred said, his voice louder than it had been, which subdued Selene a little. "I want to wish something for you, 'Lene. I wish that one day, all of this will be over, and we can be a normal couple, with domestic problems like cooking and cleaning, going on double dates with your brother and whoever he picks up, meeting your parents, things that you immediately think of when you say 'dating'."

"Wishing never works." Selene said slowly, hoping that it could be true all the same. "I wished all the time when I was younger, and all I got was a chance to go to Hogwarts."

"Yeah, but-" Fred poked her in the side. "-What did you wish for? Because you got me 'Lene. And, I am the stuff of dreams."

"I guess." Selene smiled, exhaling once more and burying her head in Fred's shoulder. "I guess wishes can come true."

**Hello again, my lovelies!**

**So, 1x good news on the fan-art side –** **thanks to dumblesbashing for enlisting your friend for me! You're amazing.**

**Also, 150 followers, 111 favouriters. I think I have a mini-army now. WE WILL RISE UP! Thank you everyone – I would list you all here but it's take so long that I've decided to wait until I finish this story to thank you all, person by person.**

**Thank you everyone!**

**Is that all?**

**Think so.**

**Please review! **

**Eleanor xxx**


	59. Chapter 58: Expect The Unexpected

**Hello, how is everyone? I'm fine, by the way. **

**I went with the majority for the poll on Selene's Patronus, because I thought it summed her up rather nicely. Clever, shy, elusive, smart, protective… Guess which one I'm on about.**

**And I had a good idea for Fred's as well, so that's in here too. The rest will be revealed later on, don't worry.**

**Thank you to dumblesbashing (your one-shot is in the making, I just don't want it to be crap).**

**To Gurl5678 – wow, I wish. And thanks for the support! I don't think JK is the best author out there, but it's nice to be compared to her. For a great author, look to Derek Landy. Selene… wow, its nice to know you feel that way too. More fluff here (insert cheesy grin!)!**

**Dalonega Noquisi: well, Draco appears next chapter. I guessed that he wouldn't want to approach Fred, so I waited. Everyone will know now. Hint hint!**

**HT118: thanks XD**

**Blacklab369, thank you so much! I wanted to portray a Fred like that, sweet and caring. He can't be joking around all the time, right? And Mrs Weasleys reaction… you may get to see that. Hint hint!**

**The souless ones. I'm bored of replying to you. I'll see you at school after half term anyway.**

**And HayleyGoth, thank you too. I have a long way to go. Please let me know if I could improve in ANY way.**

**And that applies to all of you. Please review!**

* * *

"Then you'd call, I could feel your body fall down next to me, and I wanted us to be fast asleep, closer than anything to me, like we were home again…" - This Is London by The Airborne Toxic Event

* * *

Chapter 58: Expect The Unexpected

There was something indefinite about the atmosphere during that DA meeting. There was… a background buzz, if you liked to describe it that way, and in that manner.

Because finally, after weeks and months of waiting, Harry Potter was going to show them all how to cast a Patronus Charm.

The majority of Professor Flitwick's Seventh-Year Charms Class knew the theory behind the operation, naturally, but only a select few (Selene and Cho being among them) had got anywhere near the desired finished result. And that was only a tiny step of the magic needed to perform the spell.

"Your memory isn't strong enough." Harry explained to Selene, walking over purposefully from where she was practicing in the corner with Fred, George, Lee, Angelina, Alicia and Katie. "And you're too defensive with your stance."

Selene nodded; shifting herself into the position Harry showed her and closing her eyes, trying to think of a memory happier than the one she had been using – the memory of knowing that she could go to Hogwarts. She knew that one about Fred would work amazingly well, but she couldn't get one without the worries.

When she opened her eyes again, the object of her thoughts gave her a grin. He knew exactly what was running through her head right now, and Selene was amazingly grateful for it.

So, she thought of Fred's grin in her mind, and reached for the best feeling she could associate with him.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" She said, waving her wand in the pattern that Harry had shown her, and took a sharp intake of breath.

She lowered her wand, and stared at the animal that had just began to run rings around the room, just like the rest of the Patronuses has done when they were first summoned. Harry smiled, and gave her a thumbs up, and Hermione grinned broadly.

There was something… mystical about the way her Patronus moved, and Selene could barely take her eyes off it for the first few moments of it's life. And, if she could trust in what she knew about herself, and her personality, the animal that it had taken form as suited her.

"That's amazing!" Angelina breathed, watching the animal with wide eyes. "Well done!"

Selene blushed, and watched her fox, her Arctic fox, move over to Fred. It sniffed at his ankles, like it was considering him for a while, then evidently decided that he made the cut and tried to climb on him. George fell about laughing, abandoning his attempts, as the fox fell down a couple of times, before giving up and standing in the space between Fred and Selene.

"Fox…" Fred said, experimentally, after he was sure that Selene's fox wasn't going to maul him or gouge his eyes out. Then he looked up at his fiancée, and smiled. "Shy, protective, beautiful, smart… Suits you down to the ground, my love."

It looked like no one else had really heard Fred's comment, but Selene certainly did, and she blushed again at the insertion of 'my'. They were back to square one, on the flirting front, and Selene couldn't care less.

"Go on then." She prompted, as her fox began to meander around everyone. "Cast the Charm."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Tell me what memory you used first." He pressed, smirking. "After all, if I'm right…"

"Just cast the charm." Selene said again, rolling her eyes. "Or I'll set my fox on you again."

"And, if the fox is anything like you, it would just try to lick me to death." Fred sighed exaggeratedly, and shook his head. "Okay then. _Expecto Patronum!"_

A monkey joined the stag, bulldog, otter, hare and arctic fox, and Fred relaxed looking rather pleased with himself. George grinned, and slapped his twin on the back. "Awesome." He said, watching the animal's progress around the room. "Just like you."

Harry paused to watch the new animal as well, and grinned almost as broadly as George. "Good work George." He said, mistaking the twins for one another.

"No, _I'm Fred_!" George said, gesturing to his twin to cause further confusion. "_He's _George Harry, can't you tell us apart?"

Before Harry could respond to this, there was a sharp crack of noise, and Dobby appeared in the middle of the DA room. Many girls squealed and jumped away, but Harry moved forward. Selene blinked for a moment at seeing her family's ex-House Elf appear so suddenly, but got over it quicker than she had expected to.

"What's wrong Dobby?" Harry was asking the House Elf quietly, almost as if he didn't want anyone else to overhear. "What's happening?"

"BAD ELF! BAD DOBBY!" Dobby shouted, a frying pan appearing as if from thin air, and he began to beat himself over the head with it. "BAD DOBBY! BAD DOBBY!"

Selene rushed forward to help Harry pull the frying pan off the House Elf, and Dobby stood there, wide eyed, thanking them profusely. "Thank you Harry Potter and Mistress." He said heavily. Selene heard a faint murmur of confusion when Dobby mentioned 'Mistress', but she ignored it. "She told the House Elves not to tell-"

"Umbridge." Harry said quickly, straightening up to address the rest of the DA. "Everyone, we need to leave now, and fast. We've been betrayed."

"Dobby!" Selene said sharply, shocking the Elf out of his choking fit. "Calm down!"

"Yes Mistress Selene." Dobby choked, loosening his grip on his own neck. "Dobby will calm down now."

"You need to leave as well Dobby." Selene said urgently, looking around at the mad scramble for the only exit. "If she finds out what you said, then-"

"Thank you Mistress." Dobby said straightening up. "Mistress is a good witch!"

Selene smiled, and waited until Dobby had left until she ran over to where George was beckoning her over. "You need to come back to Gryffindor tower with us." He explained, once Selene had made it over. "If Umbridge even so much as suspects that you were in here, then she'll crack down at least twice as hard on you as she does the rest of us."

"But won't me not being in Ravenclaw tower be more suspicious?" Selene queried, falling into place between the twins as they walked off).

"It was your tutoring session for Neville tonight." Fred reminded her quietly. "We can say that you decided to relocate to our common room for tonight."

There were many loopholes in this plan, but Selene decided not to dwell on them for the meantime. Fred slipped his hand into her own, and squeezed it gently. "Calm down." He said, noticing the expression on her face for what it really was. "It'll be fine, love, promise."

"Thanks." Selene responded, smiling thankfully at him.

"Shit!" George swore under his breath, dragging Angelina into a nearby alcove, Fred and Selene following. "Filch!"

"Come on my sweet!" Filch hissed, and Selene could hear the mews of Mrs Norris as well. "We've got a whole group of students to catch!"

Fred wordlessly clapped of his hands over Selene's mouth, rolling his eyes when she gave him a quizzical expression. "Mrs Norris can smell your _fear_!" He muttered dramatically, trying to roll his eyes back into his head. "She's the spawn of the devil, I swear!"

"Shut _up _then!" Angelina muttered too, elbowing Fred in the side.

After Fred grumbled for a little while longer, they all fell silent, and Filch passed by without incident. They all stepped back out into the now silent corridor, and Selene breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"See you lot back at Gryffindor tower." Angelina said, checking her watch quickly. "I had to meet with Professor McGonagall about possible Quidditch captains, once we've all left."

"See you." George said, before kissing her with as much aggression as you might expect from a Grindylow trying to eat a wizard. Selene instinctively stepped backwards, and Fred jokingly placed a hand over her eyes.

"Are we as bad as that?" Selene said quietly, trying not to look at where George and Angelina were eating each other's faces off, having managed to peel Fred's hand off her eyes.

Fred shrugged. "I hope not." He said, grimacing. "At least I have more ammunition to use against him when they get married. Imagine 'our happily wedded couple used to eat each other when we were in school! Get them done for cannibalism!'"

"You're worse." Angelina said, once she and George had finished. "You two kind of…"

"Turn into one person with four arms and four legs." George finished for her, giving Angelina a hug. "We'll tell you what's happening later Angel."

Fred pretended to vomit.

* * *

It had been Marietta.

Every time anyone mentioned her, Selene felt slightly sick. Her old friend (ex-friend, she reminded herself) was a traitor, and she had paid for it. Hermione was extremely smug about the jinx, and for the first time Selene found herself disagreeing with Hermione's harshness.

Yes, Marietta had betrayed them all, and their headmaster by connection, but still. The jinx would never heal (as soon as Hermione passed Selene the working she used in order to create it, she knew that).

"Yes, but she's a sneak Selene." George sighed, risking a glance towards the top table to see Umbridge prostrating herself in Professor Dumbledore's seat. "And she got that toad into power."

It had only been a matter of hours since the disastrous end to the DA meeting, and yet so much had changed. Professor Flitwick – directly and purposefully ignoring one of Umbridge's Educational Decrees – had caught Selene after Charms that morning to try and ask her what had been wrong with Marietta.

Selene had elected not to answer, but luckily Professor Flitwick was answered by Cho, who managed to summarise the situation in a few short phrases without even mentioning anyone else.

"I got a letter from Snuffles this morning." She explained, taking the parchment out of her pocket and laying it on the table in front of the three of them. "Not much is happening, but I think Harry wrote to him about last night's catastrophe."

"Poor sod, it must be hell being stuck inside all the time." George groaned, taking a quick glance at the letter. "Any news on us and the _thing_?"

"Don't call it the _thing_." Selene sighed, shaking her head. "It sounds stupid. And I don't know, but I think it would have been Dumbledore that would tell us that."

"Hmm." Fred said, sweeping the letter towards him and taking a big bite of his toast. "Mum's at home then?"

"Looks like it." Selene shrugged, folding the letter and slipping it into her pocket before anyone else could read it. "He thinks the Ministry have possibly found out about our engagement Fred."

Fred swore. "Holy…" He began, shaking his head. "How the fuck did they find that out? It was just the article, a couple of weeks ago, and no ones said anything about that, have they?"

Selene shifted uncomfortably, before nodding. "But Hermione's much too busy with work and…" She trailed off, before quickly picking her train of thought back up again. "To keep tabs on Rita Skeeter anymore, she was more than freely available to go and tell the Ministry."

And, she reminded herself; it was only a matter of time before Draco got lucky and found her alone. He was unwilling to approach her while she was with Fred or George or another one of her rather large group, but Selene knew that when he did see her alone, he would grab her.

"Well." George said, and Selene jumped, realising that there had been a rather big pause in the time that she had been thinking. "That sucks."

Selene laughed, with as much humour as she could, and gave George a hug. "You're stupid." She said, rolling her eyes.

"I'll give you stupid." George smirked, before licking her cheek. Selene jumped back into Fred, who almost lost balance.

"You're even worse than Snuffles!" Selene grimaced, gingerly wiping her cheek with a shudder. "I don't know how Angelina puts up with you."

George smirked again, and shrugged. "Oh, I don't know…" He said, in a faux-thoughtful voice. Maybe it's because I am the better twin? I'm smarter, sexier, just generally better than Fred in all aspects."

"There is a reason I am going to marry Fred, you know." Selene said slowly, as Fred made a flamboyant show of kissing her hand. "And it's because-"

"I don't think I want to know, thank you." George said sharply, one step away from covering up his ears and going 'la la la la la' like a five year-old. "Save that for when I'm not around, thank you."

"Says the guy that tried to eat his girlfriend last night." Fred muttered, but only so Selene could hear. "Ah! Angelina! Who's better, me or George?"

Angelina blinked at the sudden question, looked at Selene – who shrugged – and smiled. "George, obviously."

* * *

"Don't you think something is… off?" Angelina asked, as she and Selene sat in the Quidditch stands, watching the twins have a brutal one on one Quidditch match (using Selene and Angelina's brooms) that was supposed to sort out the problem of 'who was the better twin?'.

"Yeah." Selene said, managing a smile as Fred almost knocked George off his broomstick. She knew that they were breaking a million and one rules by being here after dark and after hours, not to mention the fact that Fred and George were technically banned from doing this for life, but they only had a limited amount of time before they were all out in the real world, and Selene at least wanted the twins to sort out this dispute before they did. "They've spent literally the whole of the entire second half of today with us, just us, not Lee at all."

"It's a bit weird, if we weren't talking about the Weasley twins." Angelina added, sitting back and cocking her head to one side. "You know, we're probably going to be sisters-in-law one day."

Selene smiled. "One day…" She echoed; her eyes locked on Fred. She grinned when George tried to knock Fred off, but ultimately failed. "Maybe not so far into the future Ange. I mean," She added, upon seeing Angelina's strange expression. "I never thought I'd get married until I was well out of school, but when you…"

"Find someone that you'd love until the end of the world?" Angelina queried, with a little laugh. "Yes, I have those kind of feelings too. I'm just not as gooey as you and Fred are."

She reached out to poke Selene, with a grin as Selene began to protest. "No, we're not!" She insisted. "You're… you're the one who tries to eat George every time you see him!"

"You and Fred become one person!"

"You and George feed each other at breakfast!"

"You and Fred hold hands pretty much all the time!"

"You and George pass notes in Charms!"

"You and-"

"You two are pathetic." Fred said, hopping off his broom and handing it back to Selene with a kiss. "I won. See, Angelina, you chose the wrong twin!"

"I didn't have much of a choice Fred." Angelina rolled her eyes, taking her broom from George. "Because, you and Selene are pretty much one person."

Fred tried to wipe mud on her face, but George got in the way (probably purposefully), and got it in his hair. George lobbed some grass that had got stuck to his arm at his twin, but Fred ducked and it hit Selene.

"MUD FIGHT!" Fred yelled, grabbing Selene's broomstick without warning, and pulling both of them onto it.

When they finally made it back to the castle, it was past midnight, and they had all hastily cleaned the mud off themselves with magic. George had come up with the idea of having a piggyback race across the huge expanse of ground between the castle and the Quidditch Pitch, having not been satisfied with the outcome of the 'match'.

"Okay, I admit it." Fred said heavily, collapsing to the ground in front of his twin brother, trying to catch his breath back. "George, you are the best. You will always be the best Weasley twin. You can say that at my wedding, when I have kids, when I die, whenever, okay mate? Just never… _never_ make me run across that again, okay?"

"I accept your terms." George said pompously, before walking over to Angelina and picking her up, bridal style. He made to carry her into the castle, but Angelina nailed him, right in the ribs, with a sharp kick. Instead, he very slowly let her down, before doubling over in pain.

"It seems George may be wrong." Fred said, extending a hand to Selene, who giggled and took it. "My dear 'Lene, would you accept this oh-so-humble escort?"

"I would be delighted." Selene said, biting her lip to hide her giggling in. Fred unexpectedly spun her around, dipped her, and, as Selene eyes widened, carefully kissed her.

When the world was righted again, there was an incredibly disgusted twin/Angelina looking on, both of them very green. "If… _that_." Angelina said, struggling for the appropriate words to use. "Isn't gooey, then what it? Frelene is like a… toffee chocolate bonbon."

"And Georgalina is like a hazelnut flavoured Every Flavour Bean." Fred retorted, giving the pair of them two fingers. "Turn away if it embarrasses you."

"Let's go." Selene said, feeling heat in her cheeks and knowing that she was an extraordinary shade of either red or purple by now. "If Filch catches us, where will we be?"

"In detention." Fred said simply. Selene face-palmed.

* * *

"Look, Selene?" Fred asked her, leaning across the Gryffindor table. "The Portable Swamp, did you sort the kinks out?"

Selene blew her hair out of her face, and nodded, slightly nervously. "Yes, I did, why do you ask?"

The Portable Swamp had been an early idea of the twin's. But it had turned toxic in every single attempt since the beginning. Selene had managed to find something that would counteract it (moonstone dust), but they had decided in the end to just bring it out when the joke shop was already on its feet.

"It doesn't matter." Fred said, shrugging. "Do you still have it though?"

"In my dormitory." Selene nodded. "Fred, what are you planning? You can tell me, can't you?"

Fred just smiled at her, pecked her cheek, and ran off.

* * *

Selene didn't see either of the twins until just after lunchtime that day, and it seemed that by then, whatever they were planning was either completed, or lay in wait.

"'Lene!" Fred said, after he had tugged Selene out of the way of the general flow of people, and into an empty corridor behind a tapestry. "There you are!"

"I think that's what I should be saying." Selene said, with a smile. "Where have you been?"

Fred ignored her question, and pulled her closer to him. "Don't you recognise this place?" He asked, looking around them as if seeing it in a new light.

Selene copied him, a glimmer of memory flickering in her mind. "I told you that I loved you here." She said, the answer coming naturally.

"Selene Narcissa Malfoy." Fred said simply, and Selene's eyes widened at the poignancy of his tone. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes, I do." Selene admitted, still dubious about his motives. "Fred, what's going on?"

"We…" Fred fiddled with the collar of his sweater. "We may… be planning something."

Selene was still worried, but she smiled. It seemed a lot less worrying than her initial fears. "Okay." She said, her voice even. "Is that why you wanted the Portable Swamp?"

"Yeah," By the sound of it, Fred was expecting a lot more negative reaction. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"It's no problem." Selene smiled again. "Why did you need to find me then? I'll see you later, won't I?"

Fred opened his mouth, like he was about to say something, but then he snapped it shut again, and grinned. "Yeah." He said indulgently, facepalming. "I didn't think of that. That was… stupid of me, yeah. Oh, but I wanted to tell you to make sure you're up on the fourth floor in…" He checked his watch. "… Ten minutes or so, okay love?"

"Definitely." Selene smiled, giving him a loose hug. "I'm tutoring Colin tonight, so I won't see you until tomorrow, most likely."

"See you tomorrow then 'Lene." Fred grinned. "I love you too. Do you reckon half the school is hiding around the corner this time?"

Selene laughed, and closed the gap between them, becoming a little surprised when Fred pulled away faster than he normally would.

"See you later." He grinned, before he disappeared, into the dark corridor.

* * *

"So…" Umbridge scowled, a dangerous expression on her face. "You think it's funny to place a swamp in a corridor, do you?"

"Pretty funny, yeah." George grinned, and Selene could see Angelina, out of the corner of her eyes, smirk too.

"Hilarious." Fred copied his brother's stance – casually leaning against the wall.

"You won't be laughing after I'm through with you." Umbridge said darkly, and Selene tensed. "Filch?"

Filch hurried through the assembled crowd, gripping a piece of paper in one of his grubby hands. "Approval for whipping…" He muttered, as he passed Selene, Angelina, Katie and Alicia. "Approval for whipping… they've had this coming to them for years!"

Angelina let out a small hiss of anger, and Alicia clenched her fists. "She can't whip them, surely?" Katie murmured, resting a hand on Selene's arm, as she had gone green. "It's okay Sel, I'm sure they'll be fine."

"You know what Gred?" Fred asked his twin, who raised one eyebrow in what looked like a perfected move. "I think we've outgrown full-time education."

"I couldn't agree more Forge." George responded, and Selene began to put two and two together in her mind. She tried to share this with the rest of them, but then the twins both raised their wands.

"_Accio Brooms!_" They chorused, and there was a gigantic crashing noise from the dungeons far below them. Two Cleansweep Fives rushed into the twin's outstretched hands, and they mounted them.

"For more products like the swamp, visit number 93 Diagon Alley in London!" George called, to the assembled crowd, who had begun to holler and hoot.

"Special discounts to students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat!" Fred yelled, shocking Umbridge, who nearly stepped backwards into the swamp.

As they zoomed into the air, and the crowd ran to follow them, Angelina looked caught between laughing and crying, Selene was staring, and Alicia and Katie were high-fiving. "Give her hell from us Peeves!" Fred yelled again, before Selene was aware of him giving her a huge wink and a smile.

"I HATE YOU GEORGE WEASLEY!" Angelina yelled into the sky, after George, who spun around momentarily and tipped an imaginary hat at her.

"AS DO I, MY ANGEL!" He yelled back, sending one last firework into the air.

Angelina looked in shock, and was ignoring the fact that everyone was staring at her. "Remind me to kill him." She murmured to Selene, who nodded, making to turn away.

"Sorry 'Lene." Selene's eyes widened, before Fred had grabbed her by the waist and kissed her. It was like no one else existed, and that everyone wasn't staring at them; and Katie wasn't laughing so hard she was having to lean in Alicia for support. When Fred let go, her grinned again, re-mounted his broomstick, blew a kiss to the crowd, and yelled something to the sky that Selene could barely hear.

Selene was stood there, quite a while after everyone else had left, and trying to work out what exactly had just happened. And when she did, she found herself unable to be angry with either of the twins, despite their elusiveness.

And she walked to the library, sat down at one of the tables, right at the back of the room, hidden by bookshelves. It felt strange, writing to someone she had thought, up until that morning, would be graduating along with the rest of them; but she managed it, and putting pen to paper proved easier than she thought.


	60. Chapter 59: Face It, You're Breaking

**Hey again. Happy Halloween!**

**This is a slightly shorter chapter, considering my normal length of chapter. Just over 4000. But… evil cliffhanger. No, I'm not related to Steven Moffat.**

**I'm also done with the OotP plotline! I know! After this one, there will be two, maybe three chapters, before we see the end of term. **

**If anyone REALLY wants me to save Sirius, let me know. You'll have to sweet-talk me though, and give me a way out. And there's a poll up on it.**

**Thank you to The souless ones.**

**And Gurl5678 – well, you get Draco in this one. And someone else next chapter… Thanks though.**

**dumblesbashing (yep, one-shot still in progress) don't worry, and I hope your friend has a nice time.**

**HayleyGoth: thanks. I always forget line breaks. But they're here, no fear! **

**Dalonega Noquisi: aw, thanks. Not much fluff in the next few chapters, but we do hear from Fred&amp;George in this one. Briefly.**

**HT118, thanks.**

**Can I be super annoying and give you all a review target? Because I have worked my butt off with writer's block to get this all to you so quickly. What about 332? **

**Okay. Thank you for reading that. Rant/thanks/AN over. On with the story!**

* * *

"And all I wanna do is find my name upon the line, before I have to lose this I want time." - All You Good Good People by Embrace

* * *

Chapter 59: Face It, You're Breaking

"Today's the day." Angelina said darkly, as they began to line up outside the Great Hall. "What's the betting someone faints?"

"Quite high." Selene murmured, looking rather green. "Does anyone know why I agreed to take so many exams?"

The rest of the group all shook their heads. "One more day like this and I might just pull a Weasley." Alicia grimaced, using the term that had spread across the school over the last few weeks.

Fred and George had become heroes of a sort since their dramatic escape, and everyone seemed to try and be filling the empty role of 'prankster-in-chief'. Selene had been regularly sought out by the younger years, which naturally believed that Fred had passed all of his knowledge onto her.

Although for most people, the atmosphere had been high-spirited, for Selene it was dull. Normally she would have been okay, except for the long periods in which Cho got upset when she realised that she couldn't take her NEWTs this year, but she had written to Fred no less than twenty times, and she had only received one letter from him.

To contrast, Angelina had only written to George twice, and had received at least ten letters from him. Selene knew they would be busy, but sometimes she wondered whether Fred could be _bothered _to write to her.

"It'll be fine." Alicia insisted. "Today's the hardest by far: the Potions exam. Then we have Ancient Runes after lunch, then you have Arithmancy while me and Ange have Herbology. Tomorrow we have DADA, then Charms, then Transfig-"

"I think that's not helping." Angelina rolled her eyes. "Come on, we'd better actually get into alphabetical order."

Selene and Alicia moved further down the line, Selene slotting in between a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff, and Alicia walking down to almost the very end. A short, tufty haired Professor (Selene recognised him as Professor Tofty, the one who had rescued her from a plant in her disastrous Herbology OWL) began to squeak at them, all about the rules of the exam, and how long they would get.

When they finally got into the room; and Selene looked down at the paper, she relaxed. _Name the six magical properties of Dragon blood, and its uses._

She could do this.

* * *

"Five shield hats, ten Skiving Snackboxes and an Edible Dark Mark." George sighed, flopping onto the sofa, which made a sad poofing noise. "Last of the day."

Fred sat down heavily, next to his twin, and groaned. "My feet feel like they're about to drop off." He complained, leaning backwards. "You think Selene would marry me if I only had one foot?"

George snickered. "I think she'd marry you if you only had one ear, one leg, one arm, one brain cell… Oh, wait, the last one's already true!"

"Shut up." Fred grumbled, picking up the letter that he had abandoned on the coffee table that morning, not even having enough time to check the sender. Life was more hectic than either twin could have envisioned now they were running their own business.

George had assured Fred that he had an inking of an idea for a new staff member, but he just needed time to get it off the ground and into the sky. Sirius had thankfully agreed to help them with a few of their products (distinctly giving Fred a glare while he did so however), whilst by now Mrs Weasley had given up on getting both of them back to school. She had accepted the inevitable truth that the joke shop, however difficult and dangerous the circumstances were, was a huge success.

However, at the very beginning of their self-imposed school holiday, she had done everything she could to stop them.

"It's from Selene again mate." George said, pointing at the neat, calligraphic writing on the envelope. Fred smiled, you could take the girl out of a pureblood society but the traces it left were untameable. "You should really write back to her again, what number letter is this? Eleven?"

"Twenty-second." Fred grinned, thinking of the other twenty-one letters he owned. "And I told you, I don't know what to write back to her about. Should I tell her about the WANTED posters? The fear of Death Eater raids? I don't want her to worry Gred, okay?"

George muttered something inaudible under his breath, but leaned over Fred's shoulder to read the letter.

_Dear Fred,_

_ I hope everything with the shop is going well, and that the complainer you told me about a couple of weeks ago hasn't come back yet. _

_ School's… okay, I guess. Umbridge is still Headmistress of a sort (none of us recognise her as such, we normally answer to Professor McGonagall), but she hasn't tried to take any more actions against us, as of yet._

_ Harry's worried about something – I'm not sure what, but it has to do with our lessons. Well… our old lessons. Snape refused to give us anymore, I'm afraid. Harry made the mistake of looking into Snape's memories, while Snape went to rescue Graeme Montague from a toilet that Lee had shoved him into. I'm not sure what he saw there, but Snape wasn't happy._

_ I think I got the hang of it though, so I should be all right. Voldemort hasn't tried to access my memories for quite some time._

_ NEWTs start tomorrow, and I've been revising every single spare moment of my days. I have Potions first, directly after breakfast – a written exam and then a practical, then I have Ancient Runes. Luckily we don't have Snape as an examiner, otherwise I doubt he'd take any of us at all seriously._

_ Angelina thinks that Umbridge might still be looking through our mail, so I'll leave this here. There's only a few weeks left of school, right? I can tell you and George the rest then. _

_ Don't take this to your head, but I miss you. Everyone agrees: school isn't the same without the Weasley twins._

_ I love you,_

_ S.M._

Fred put the letter down, and traced a finger absent-mindedly over the parting note. He missed her too, if he was being honest, he missed her a lot. For one thing, she probably could cook a lot better than either him or George, especially since George had almost given them both food poisoning.

But that didn't mean that he knew what to write to her about.

"Just write something." George sighed, standing up. "Anything! Anything's better than you sitting here all the time like a loon, or trying to figure out ways to plant a sting operation inside Hogwarts."

"But we have Lee!" Fred protested. "He's our go-to man!"

George didn't say anything about this, except chucking a quill pen and a piece of parchment at his twin, before leaving the room.

_Dear Selene,_

Fred paused, trying to think of an appropriate way to greet his fiancée after he hadn't spoken or corresponded with her in weeks. 'Hello, how are you?' seemed a little too casual. And going with what he _wanted_ to say ('hello, when you get back I want to marry you literally on the train station platform because this is much more awkward than I remember') would probably just scare her into thinking that London hadn't done much for his brain.

He groaned, and ran a hand through his hair. He could never keep his mind focused when he was faced with tasks like this.

* * *

When she walked out of her Transfiguration exam, Selene released a breath that she hadn't been quite aware of holding. Angelina whooped, punching the air, and Alicia grinned broadly. "Thank Godric!" Angelina sighed, looking like she was about to kiss the ground. "Our last ever exam we're ever going to have to take…"

"Hopefully." Alicia cut in. "Urgh, I completely forgot Golpalott's Seventh Law of Transfiggy-whatsit."

"The subject's mass can be decreased or increased in the event of a spell, but the resulting difference in mass will be transferred to the simple Transfiguric atmosphere." Selene recited. "Therefore-"

Angelina sighed, and shook her head. "Therefore you need to shut up." She grimaced. "You, you are the only one who needs to know that, out of all of us. So don't bore us with the extra information."

"Well, at least one of us got that question right." Alicia grinned, checking her watch. "Oh, it's almost seven! Do you reckon I could get Lee to nip down to Hogsmede quickly and grab some Firewhiskey for the post-NEWTs celebration party?"

"I don't drink anything stronger than Butterbeer." Selene cut in quickly, sensing where this conversation was rapidly veering. When Alicia opened her mouth to respond, she shook her head quickly. "And that means _ever_."

Both of the other girls looked like they were about to get Selene off the straight and narrow, when a distraction came, in a form that was both welcomed and equally feared. "Selene." A cold voice said, and instantly Selene knew that she wouldn't be making it to the party that night.

"It's okay." She said quickly, as Angelina and Alicia were both looking simultaneously puzzled and wary. "I'll be fine. I won't be long, you two go and… set up."

The others walked away, albeit reluctantly, leaving Selene facing her brother. Draco had changed, only a little but still changed, in the last handful of months. He looked a lot more tired, and paler, and his pointed chin somehow seemed a lot less pronounced. He looked like he was forcing himself to meet Selene's eyes – he was now her height – as his grey ones kept flickering away and towards hers.

"We can't talk here." Draco said, rushed, like he was spitting the words out of his mouth because they tasted bad. "There're too many people around."

Selene wordlessly followed him to an empty classroom, and watched as he shut the door behind himself, choosing to pace rather than to sit down, like she had. "Draco-" She began, but he stopped pacing almost immediately, a truly dark look settling on his face.

"There is nothing you can say." He said awkwardly, the phrase not fitting right, but he pulled it on all the same. "Selene, there is _nothing_." Selene swallowed, forcing herself not to cut in as Draco continued. "When you didn't turn up at home for Christmas, Father thought you would, in your own time. Mother was terrified, Selene, and you just stayed away from our family."

Draco paused for a second, and he began to pace again. "But after Christmas Day passed by, and we heard nothing of you, Father gave up. The Dark Lord gave up. Because you abandoned me, didn't you? You gave up me, in favour of your rotten blood traitor FIANCE!"

Selene flinched. "Draco." She repeated quietly, but Draco laughed hollowly.

"Shut up." He snapped. "Father is making plans for you to be disowned as we speak, and by the school year is over you will have no claims to the Malfoy fortune or estate. You have lost me. You have lost our parents. And they're back to having the family they wanted _in the first place_."

"I DIDN'T ABANDON YOU!" Selene yelled, giving up and snapping. She got up, grabbed her brother's arm and held him still. "Draco, they would have killed everyone I love. Everyone. Even if I had married Nott, became a Death Eater, did what I should have done if I was a good little Pureblood girl, they would have killed Fred, at the very least. Please, try to-"

Draco snatched his arm away. "And now you really are getting married." He said painfully, not meeting Selene's gaze. "Tell me, the Weasel, did he tell you that everything would be okay? That you would both survive, have kids, the whole lot? Well he lied."

"I know he lied." Selene answered, swallowing again. "But he cares enough that he doesn't want me to worry, okay?"

"And yet, you do." Draco snarled. "You're worried about the pair of them, all holed up in Diagon Alley, vulnerable to Death Eater attacks like you wouldn't believe."

Selene sighed, biting her lip. "Come with me." She offered suddenly.

"Sorry?" Asked Draco, his eyes wide and his expression clearly readable. "Selene, what did you…?"

"Come with me." She repeated, the words ringing clearer than they had the first time. "Please, at least consider it, the Order would understand, so would Mrs Weasley, and Fred, and everyone would be okay."

Draco scoffed. "Even if I could, I wouldn't." He snapped. "You think you were blackmailed? What do you think about our mother dying if I don't do whatever the Dark Lord commands?"

The world began to blur a little, and Selene fought down nausea. "No…" She murmured, shaking her head. "They… wouldn't, would they?"

Draco glared at her for a moment, before he slammed the door open and left his sister staring at the place that he had been. Selene placed the back of her hand over her mouth, and wiped away her tears with the other. This… this could be fixed, easily. She just had to tell someone she trusted, and then…

But the people she trusted the most, the ones she knew would hear her out and help her through it, were both in London, one locked up in a house, and the others running a popular shop in Diagon Alley. She wanted to write to them – in fact, that was what she would have done had it been any other circumstance – but Selene knew that whatever she wrote could put them all at risk.

* * *

When Selene walked out into the corridor, everyone had long since gone. She half-hoped to find her brother lurking around the corner, and then he'd walk out in front of her and apologise, re-think her offer, but the other half rang with the blackmail.

She had been able to understand why Fred and George had left, but as much as she did, Selene also knew that this whole situation wouldn't feel quite as much like thick, heavy mud if they were here.

"Selene!"

Selene spun, wiping the rest of her tears away. "Harry?" She asked, looking with wide eyes at the boy running towards her like the hounds of hell were after him. "Harry, are you okay?"

"It's…" Harry panted, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath back. "It's… its Sirius…"

Selene froze, and blinked. "He hasn't…" She began, feeling sick with fear. "Harry, please, tell me he hasn't…"

"I… Floo-Called him." Harry breathed, straightening up. "Kreacher answered, he said Sirius wasn't there, he said that he went to the Department of Mysteries."

"Why would Sirius go to the Department of Mysteries?" Selene asked, trying to calm herself down. "What's there that Sirius needs?"

Harry shrugged, panic in his eyes. "Voldemort's going to be there." He said, in an urgent tone. "Selene, _have you ever been inside the Department of Mysteries?"_

If Voldemort was there… if he… if he caught… Sirius…

"Yes." Selene said, her tone matching that of Harry's. "I was just a kid, only about six, I didn't know any better. I made it into the first room, before someone hauled me out."

"What was in that room?" Harry asked quickly.

"I… I don't remember." Selene admitted quietly, trying not to watch Harry's face fall. "Harry, you _can't _go there. It might be a trap."

"I'd rather it a trap than watch my godfather die, the first parental figure I ever had." Harry snapped. "Thanks for trying to help, try and keep people away from figuring out where we are, okay?"

He began to walk away, but Selene surged forward and caught his arm. "I'm coming with you." She said, before Harry could protest. "I'm not special, but he's my cousin. I can't just…"

"We'll be fine." Insisted Harry, moving his arm away from her. "I understand, but I'll have Ron and Hermione with me."

"None of you know the layout of the Ministry well enough." Selene pointed out, a hand gripping her at the stomach that seemed to pull towards London – towards Sirius. If Sirius… if he… she couldn't… "Harry, please."

Something in her plea must have changed Harry's mind, because the next moment they were walking towards Ron and Hermione, who were standing next to one another anxiously in the Great Hall. "Harry!" Hermione greeted, when she saw her friend, but then her face furrowed in confusion as she looked at Selene. "Um, hi-"

"Selene's coming too." Harry said, in a voice that commanded no comment. Ron gave her a brief smile, but then their attention was taken by three more people, walking down the grand staircase at a brisk pace.

"So are we." Ginny said, her eyes ablaze. "You can't do this alone Harry."

"Hello Selene…" Luna said dreamily. "Your ring is very pretty…"

Although most of them didn't react, Neville started, staring at Selene, who blushed deeply. "Wha-?" He asked, his eyes flicking to her hand. "Your…"

"We don't have _time_!" Harry pressed, leading the way out towards the grounds. "Hermione, is Umbridge…?"

"Centaurs." Hermione said smugly. "She'll be in the Hospital Wing by now, I dare say."

Selene didn't say anything, concentrating on keeping her fear at bay, but she could tell that Ginny was now saying something and Ron was laughing. She felt a little out of place – but seven was the most magical number; considered also the luckiest number there was in the Wizarding World.

Once, not so long ago, Selene hadn't believed in 'luck', but luck had given her a real life, and she was willing to gamble on it again. "How are we going to get there, Harry?" She asked, looking around. "I can't apparate all seven of us across the country."

"You don't need to." Harry said, slowing the group down as they reached the outer perimeter of the Forbidden Forest. He brought two fingers to his mouth, and let out a long, drawn-out whistle.

For a while, nothing happened. Hermione was just about to open her mouth when there was a rustling from the trees, and seven black, skeletal creatures moved out from the forest. Selene tensed, and she saw Neville do the same, just a while away.

"What is it Harry?" Ron asked, looking around in confusion. "What are you looking at."

"Thestrals…" Selene murmured, grimacing. "Harry, are you sure this is a good idea?"

Harry nodded. "Hagrid said this herd is well trained, you've nothing to worry about." He moved forward to pat one of the Thestrals on the nose, and it let out a great snort. Selene yelped and jumped into Hermione.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, staring at Selene. "I can't see an- oh."

"Thestrals." Neville echoed Selene's earlier statement. Luna nodded too. "You can only see them if you've seen death."

It took a while – the most time was taken by trying to guide Ron and Hermione to two Thestrals of their own – but soon they all had climbed on one each, Selene gingerly bringing herself to grasp some of the Thestral's feathers like Harry had shown her, and gasping when it snuffled.

"You'll be okay." Harry said, but the corners of his mouth were twitching. "They don't bite."

Harry let out another long whistle, and the Thestrals all flew up into the air. Selene gave up and hugged the Thestral's neck as tight as she could without strangling the poor creature, closing her eyes as the ground moved beneath them.

Brooms… she could handle, although it had taken a long time. It had been Cho that got her over that fear, but showing her some appropriate breaking techniques. But Thestrals were a whole other matter, and the ground was… very… far… away…

Hermione and Ron looked extremely worried – especially because they were floating in thin air to them. Luna looked incredibly at ease, and Neville almost as much so, but Harry was tense.

"DO THEY KNOW WHERE TO GO?" Neville yelled, against the deafening roar of the wind.

"I THINK SO!" Harry yelled back, and Selene cracked open her eyes. She shut them tight again, even though they were coming in to land, and she could see the roofs of London underneath her.

She could only fully relax when there was a definite feel of earth and floor beneath her feet, and Selene managed to weakly pat the Thestral on the head as a parting greeting. Harry chuckled this time, ignoring Selene's glare.

"We have to get inside here." Harry beckoned to a red telephone box. "It's the Ministry visitor's entrance."

Selene had never been through the visitor's entrance, she had never had any reason to, but Harry looked like he knew what he was doing. It was an immensely tight squeeze inside the red box, and Selene was pressed up right against Ron, whose ears were rapidly turning rather red. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and Selene Malfoy, we're here to rescue someone, unless the Ministry can first!" Harry said, from somewhere at the front of the box.

There was a clang, and Selene felt her stomach drop, along with the floor of the telephone box. She clung onto the nearest thing to her – which happened to be Ron. "Sorry." She mumbled, echoing Ron himself from before.

The badges were passed around, the last one getting to Selene, who slipped it into her pocket, rather than attach it to her jumper. There was a ding, and a cool female voice said: "Ministry Atrium."

"Where now Selene?" Harry asked, brushing his jeans down and looking around the deserted atrium.

"Down here." Selene pointed to another lift. "It's the bottom floor, on the level below the Courtroom."

Harry gave her a fleeting smile, and surged towards the lift.

It was dark, in the first room in the Department of Mysteries, and Selene murmured '_Lumos_' under her breath, relaxing when she saw a faint glow of light.

"What are we looking for Harry?" Ginny asked quietly, lighting her own wand and regarding the black stone room. Selene looked around as well, not recognising a single landmark of any kind.

The room was pitch-black, apart from the faint glows of light, which reflected off the marble walls and floor. A selection of doors led off to different rooms, all in different directions. Harry chose the middle door – the one leading directly in front – opening it with a muted snap and then opening it fully when he saw what was in here.

This room, the one they had chosen, was completely full of crystal balls, exactly like the ones you could find in Professor Trelawney's room. There were shelves and shelves upon rows of these crystal balls, each labelled with a different name. Selene moved forward to read the label off one close by to her, but Hermione let out a sharp cry of warning.

"Don't touch anything!" She said shrilly. "We don't know what they'll do to us!"

Harry laid a hand on Hermione's arm to calm her down, and looked around himself. Selene muttered another spell, sending the ball of magical light up into the ceiling. "We need to spilt up." Harry said. "Neville, Ginny, you look to the right. I'll look with Luna and Selene in front, Ron and Hermione, over there."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Selene asked, following Harry and Luna, twisting and turning to look at each of the shelves as they passed. "Harry, what-"

Harry stretched out a hand towards a brightly glowing crystal ball in front of him. Selene opened her mouth, about to try and dissuade him, but he picked it up without incident. "See?" He said, turning the ball over in his hands. "It's fine."

"I'm very glad it is, as you put it, _fine_, Mr Potter." A silky, icy voice came from behind them. Selene swallowed, and looked sideways at Harry, who had frozen, the crystal ball still glowing in his hands. "Now, hand the prophecy over."

When Selene turned, the man in the Death Eater robe waved a pale hand, disintegrating the mask on his face in a cloud of black smoke. He raised a pale eyebrow, upon seeing Luna and Selene.

And Selene instinctively stepped back, as she looked into the cold eyes of her father.


	61. Chapter 60: Screaming

**Hello everyone! I will keep this short, and sweet.**

**Thank you to ChangingBackToBellamort500 (Sirius is living, you can breathe now), The souless ones, Dalonega Noquisi (well. Here it is!), Blacklab369 (I've worked it all out, have no fear), dumblesbashing (SIRIUS, DON'T WORRY!), bellatrixD (I tried to get this out quickly, and I succeeded! Yay!), HT118 (I used your idea in the end, :D), Gurl5678 (short and sweet! Thanks!), UlimateFangurl1 (nice to hear from you again! Updated soon!), HayleyGoth (Hmm… XD).**

**You have two bite-sized chapters now. Thanks given to bellatrixD for that. Or yelling. Up to you XD.**

**Can I get to 342? THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS ON THIS!**

* * *

"And I love you so much, I'm gonna let you kill me." - I'm Not Calling You A Liar by Florence + The Machine

* * *

Chapter 60: Screaming

"Well…" Lucius Malfoy drawled, looking from Selene to Luna to Harry. "So _this _is some of the riff-raff you hang around with these days Selene."

Selene bit her lip, and bit her tongue sharply to keep from retorting. She tasted a metallic taste in her mouth, and shook her head at Harry when she winced in pain.

"Give me the Prophecy." Malfoy snapped, holding his hand out to Harry, keeping his side-conversation with Selene at the same time. "I must say, I thought you were a lot easier to break than this. What happened to Christmas, hmm? GIVE ME IT, NOW!"

"No." Harry said adamantly, fully catching Malfoy's full attention. "Why should I? And what is it about? Where is Sirius?"

Malfoy laughed, without humour. He ignored all of Harry's questions, instead turning to look at his laughter. "Well." He sneered. "I've heard a few… _rumours _about you, lets just say-"

There was a bang, then a flash of red light, and Lucius fell backwards, his face frozen. Luna pocketed her wand once more, and smiled dreamily. "He was infected by Wrackspurts." She said, turning her smile to Selene and Harry. "Do you think there are more of them?"

"Good reasoning, girl." Another cold voice said, and Selene spun, her wand held out in front of her and a spell poised on her lips.

"When I say run, run." Harry said under his breath, glancing at Luna and Selene as the Death Eater advanced. Selene glanced at Luna, who looked nonplussed. "We need a diversion."

Selene glanced up into the Death Eater's eyes, shivering as he gave her a sadistic grin. More cracks, and the sound of footsteps on the marble floor alerted them to the fact that they were now surrounded. Harry swung around to face the ones behind Selene, and Luna covered the left side. Then they began to laugh.

"Forget about it, just RUN!" Harry yelled, loud enough for anyone in a mile radius to hear. Selene shot a Stunning Spell at the Death Eater closest to her, holding down vomit when his neck cracked against the nearest shelf sickeningly. A few of the crystal balls (were they Prophecies?) came tumbling down when the Death Eater fell, smashing on the ground. The sounds made a few of the others look around, and Selene instinctively rammed herself into the nearest shelf.

The noise was deafening. Selene just managed to escape from the barrage of falling glass and the tall shelf, but the stunned Death Eater wasn't as lucky. She could feel a burning sensation in her arm – and she could see the sleeve of her shirt slowly turning crimson – but she didn't have time to mend it. The Death Eaters were trying to retrieve the corpse of their friend from the wreckage, and some of them were running towards her.

"HARRY?" She heard Hermione yell. "LUNA? SELENE?"

"I'M HERE!" Selene yelled back, dodging a Killing Curse and ramming her shoulder into another shelf, sending _Bombarda _at the rows opposite. She turned around for a second, swearing under her breath as the Death Eaters were trying to apparate closer to her.

"You can't outrun us forever, little girly…" One of them said, and Selene swallowed and sent yet another Stunning Spell spiralling towards the group of Death Eaters on her tail. Then another hissed a spell – Selene couldn't catch the incantation through the adrenaline rushing in her ears – and there was a sickening feeling of sharp pain that spread through her back.

She bit her tongue, tasting blood again, almost dropping to the ground as Selene gingerly ran her fingers across the gash. Her hand jerked away almost immediately, and her fingers came back, tinted red. There was another crack, and Selene ran again, ignoring the pain that it caused now, running purely on adrenaline and thoughts.

There was a door at the end of the corridor, and Selene wrenched it open, before turning the key left in the lock and casting a spell over it as well. "Thank god." A voice said from the shadows, and Hermione and Ron slowly became visible. Hermione sent a ball of light up into the centre of the room.

"There're at least twenty of them." Selene explained, brushing her hair out of her face. "My father's stunned, and a shelf of the crystal balls fell on another of them."

"Ron got two." Hermione answered for Ron, who looked slightly dazed. "I saw Neville and Ginny, they've gone on to find Harry and Luna though."

"Hey, look!" Ron called back to them. "Look at these!"

The room they were in seemed to be full of strange brain-shaped things floating in some blue kind of formula. Ron was standing in front of one of the many tanks, and his hands were stretching out to grasp one of the brains. Both Selene and Hermione started forward, but Ron heaved the brain-shaped thing out of its tank. Long tendrils shaped like tentacles shot out of it, and started to close around Ron's neck.

A sharp crack, and a flash of red light, and Hermione fell to the floor, quite unconscious. Selene shot a spell at the brain, before going to check Hermione. She was still breathing, but there was blood at the back of her head and her heartbeat seemed erratic.

"Always too compassionate for your own good." A cool male voice said, and Selene straightened up. "You put our family to shame my dear."

"Good." Selene said, with a rueful smile. "I never really did take to all of that pureblood agenda propaganda, did I?"

A derisive laugh. "You're a lot more forward than I remember as well." The man sneered, walking out of the shadows, his hood falling down and his mask evaporating. "But then again Princess, how long has it been? Fourteen years? Sorry, forgive me, but I didn't like to count days while I was in jail."

"You didn't like to count them anyway." Selene managed a little smile. "And it's been fifteen years."

"Eighteen already?" Rodolphus laughed again. "How time does fly. I must admit though, when I knew that the Dark Lord wished us to be here, I always thought you would be standing here with me, not against me. Tell me Princess, what's changed?"

He stepped forward, and ran a pale finger down Selene's cheek, making her shiver. Then Rodolphus paused, lifting up the hand that wasn't holding her wand, with a darkly knowing smirk. "I see." He said calmly – but Selene knew that when her uncle was calm, _that _was when he was most dangerous. "Who's the lucky man then? Obviously not Theodore. Shame."

"A lot of things have changed Uncle." Selene said, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice. "Including my allegiance."

"What a shame." Rodolphus drawled, dropping his hand and taking a few paces away from her. "I'm afraid I'm here to kill you."

Selene forced a laugh. "No, you're not." She said, as definitely as she could. "You're not senior enough I'm afraid Uncle. You might make a mistake. No, you're here to distract me."

He sighed, raising his wand. "Right again Princess." He raised his eyebrows. "Come on then. Are we going to do this the old-fashioned way, or am I just going to have to wait for whoever it is you answer to now?"

Selene tried to stun him, but Rodolphus lazily blocked it with a Shield Charm. "Not inherited the old Black family talent, I see." He smirked again, shaking his head at her. "Got the looks though Princess. Reminds me a little of your aunt, back when she wasn't as mad as a rabbit."

"Don't compare me to her." Selene said, through gritted teeth, sending another spell towards her uncle. He blocked it once more. "I'm nothing like my aunt, I'm nothing like either of you."

"Do keep saying that Princess." Rodolphus said lazily, shattering something behind her. "You answer to Dumbledore now, I take it? You're another one of his pawns in the slightly bigger Wizard Chess game. The Dark Lord would honour you above all others."

"Doesn't mean I want to be on your side." Selene retorted, finally managing to hit him in the side with a jinx. "I guess I've been happy where I am."

"Shame you won't be here for much longer." Rodolphus laughed, raising his wand. Selene took the chance, and slashed the Stunning Spell at him. He fell to the floor, comically frozen in position, mouth half-open to yell something.

Selene left him where he fell, running over to Ron – once more ignoring the pain in her back – and checking him. He was breathing too, but barely. "_Expecto Patronum_." Selene murmured, before watching her fox nod at her once, before shimmer and turn and disappear, out of sight.

* * *

The next person Selene came across was Luna. She was strewn across the floor, her blonde hair in a golden halo around her pale face. "Please, don't let me be alone in here." Selene murmured, moving a few strands of hair off Luna's face. "_Rennervate_."

"That won't work."

Before Selene could react, there was a jet of red light, and _so much pain_ overcame her. It felt like… like… like she was dying, being stabbed over and over again by sharp knives. Someone was laughing, over her screams, and the pain cut off as abruptly as it had begun.

"Ooh, is ickle baby Sellie _scared_?" Bellatrix sneered, walking forward and kicking Selene's back to get her to sit up. "You look like me, little girly. Have you missed your aunty Bella cupcake?"

Selene couldn't find her voice. If it hadn't been taken away by the curse, it had been taken away by the voice of the one person she had dearly wanted to miss down here.

"_Crucio!_" Bellatrix snarled, and the pain came back, three maybe four times more as before, and Selene screamed again. Maybe if she screamed loud enough…

"How _dare _you." Bellatrix snapped; grabbing Selene's arm and yanking her up to her feet so she could look into her feral eyes. Her hair was unkempt, frizzing out around her head, a stark contrast to the long dark locks it had once been. "Cissy told me all about your little Blood Traitor. _Crucio_!"

Selene would have fallen down again, but Bellatrix's strong grip held her upright like a vice. But she held the screaming in this time, because she thought she had heard someone, very distant, but still close.

Bellatrix cruelly twisted her wand, applying salt to the wound she had made, and Selene felt her face hit the floor, the lip that she had been biting so hard splitting open.

"Ooh…" Bellatrix snarled, leaning over Selene and taking her wand from her limp hand. "Don't worry cupcake." She said, faux-sweetly, and Selene closed her eyes. "Aunty Bella's not going to kill you. No, Aunty Bella's going to kill Sirius Black, and Fred Weasley, and every single person you care about _while you watch_. After all, naughty girls need to be punished, right?"

The pressure on her back lessened, and Selene's wand dropped down next to her. Bellatrix shot the Cruciatus Curse at her again, and Selene let her screams be heard.

She didn't know much about any of the Unforgivable Curses (and even if she did, it was impossible to think with the pain), and Selene's mind wouldn't let her drift off into unconsciousness like she so badly needed to. Bellatrix seemed to relish her niece's screaming, and twisted her wand sharply. The pain was overbearing…

When the spell was cut off, Selene finally gave up on trying to stay awake, and she drifted away, her limp hand going up to her neck to cover the necklace there in her last moments of reality.

Due to this, she didn't see the Order charging in to where she was, she didn't see Sirius charge at Bellatrix, she didn't see Harry being held back by Remus, and she didn't see Dumbledore duelling Voldemort. But Selene might have known, somewhere, somehow, that someone had to be forcefully held back by two others, for her.


	62. Chapter 61: The Fallout Is Unavoidable

**Hey everyone!**

**This will be longer than the last AN, just to give proper thanks, rather than the line or two I passed off last time.**

**Thanks to The souless ones (Sorry, but I don't think that's gonna work out in the long run. Sorry though.).**

**bellatrixD – Thanks! I wasn't 100% sure about Bellatrix myself; she's definitely one of the harder characters to write (another one being surprisingly Umbridge) so that praise was really awesome! Also, it made me fangirl. And here is Part 2! Less than 24 hours, which is amazing for me.**

**Blacklab369, that's okay. Sirius will be okay for now… Yep, I'm officially evil.**

**And Dalonega Noquisi, Sirius is fine, don't worry. Thanks!**

**Right. Okay. Please review! Yep, think that's it! Please review! Next chapter will be the ****standard length.**

* * *

"For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come." - 'Till Kingdom Come by Coldplay

* * *

Chapter 61: The Fallout Is Unavoidable

"Harry…" Sirius said, placing his hands on his godson's shoulders. "I really appreciate all you've done for me, but truly, you shouldn't have done that."

Harry grimaced, and nodded. The Hospital Wing wasn't generally a place for happy family reunions, but it seemed to hold that purpose tonight, however bittersweet the reunions were. "I…" He said, lost for words.

Because what was left to be said? He had endangered and risked the lives of his friends and the Order, just because he wasn't smart enough to listen to Hermione and Selene's warnings.

Hermione was lying; quite still, in the bed next to him – the other side of the curtain surrounding her. She had been hit by a Stunning Spell – but with a twist. Madam Pomfrey was sure that she would be able to revive her, but it might take a little while.

Ron, on the other hand, was in a better state, but the after-effects of the Lunacy Spell were still hitting him hard. He was well enough to sit up and talk to Harry, Sirius, his parents, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George, and also to eat momentous amounts of chocolate frogs, but he had giggling fits often and talked nonsense every few moments.

Ginny and Luna were both asleep at the moment, having suffered similar injuries, and Mrs Weasley was keeping an eye of them both as they slept. Umbridge was in a bed in the corner of the Hospital Wing, a few beds along from Hermione, and she kept jumping every time anyone came near to her.

Neville was awake as well, but Madam Pomfrey wanted him to stay in the Hospital Wing for at least another week, to keep an eye on him. Having been tortured by a Death Eater, Neville was understandably upset and jumpy, and spent a lot of his time immersed in preparations for next year's Herbology work, provided by Professor Sprout.

"What's done is done." Sirius said, giving Harry a pacifying look. "I daresay Madam Pomfrey will want to keep an eye on me too."

After the Order had come charging in, and Harry had blacked out, a lot had occurred. Sirius had flown at Bellatrix, who had got a single spell in before she disapparated. Then he had gone mad in rage, yelling and screaming at the walls. Remus had eventually calmed him down, with the help of Tonks, but many seemed worried for his sanity.

There had also been quite a few close shaves regarding Sirius in the Hospital Wing and his unwillingness to leave either Harry or Selene, as the Minister still refused to acknowledge that he was innocent. Voldemort, on the other hand…

Harry left those thoughts away for the moment, and looked towards where Selene was asleep as well. He wasn't sure what had happened to her, but it looked bad, whatever it was. When he first came around, George had been able to give Harry a quick run-down on what had been happening to the Order.

They had been in a meeting (which was good, everything considered) when a Patronus flew in. It had been Selene's apparently, and according to Mrs Weasley she hadn't been aware that she was even sending a Patronus call at all. Fred had got incredibly worked up (having seen Fred in a rage only once before, Harry didn't think that helped a lot), and ended up having to be forcefully restrained by George and Bill.

When he was finally allowed to go to the Ministry, they had already been transferred to Hogwarts. Fred had apparated to the gates, where Professor Flitwick had let him in, and he hadn't left Selene's side since.

"It'll be fine." Sirius insisted, looking over to his unconscious cousin. "Although, when Selene wakes up, she's never going to hear the end of it from me."

Harry gave Sirius a weak smile.

Selene wasn't alone, when she woke up.

Time had a funny way of flowing when you were unconscious, and she had lost track of it, but it felt like she had been away for a long time. Every muscle in her body ached, and her head felt like it had been trampled by a herd of Hippogriffs.

"I love you." She could hear someone saying to her, and her fingers flexed. "Selene? Can you hear me?"

Selene tried to say something, but all that came out was a hacking cough. Her eyes flickered open, taking a long time to adjust to the bright light in the room she was in. She felt a sense of déjà vu as well.

"Well." Another voice said, one that was equally as familiar as the other. "One year almost exactly to the day we met, my dear little baby cousin. You were in here too then as well."

"…Sirius?" Selene coughed, trying to sit up, but being guided back down by a pair of strong hands.

"See." Sirius said smugly, nodding at Fred. "I told you she'd say my name first when she woke up."

Selene didn't really care much anymore, and she ignored her aching and hurting and she threw both of her arms around Sirius, hugging him as tightly as she could without hurting herself.

After a few shocked moments, Sirius gradually hugged her back. Selene smiled. It felt… it felt like a hug from a father should be like, not that she had ever hugged her father to begin with. But it was warm, despite Sirius's low weight, and it almost made her aching bones disappear.

When she let go again, Sirius might have wiped his eyes, but before Selene could comprehend that he was looking at her with a look that she might have been scared of, had it been on anyone else's face.

"And, I was hoping that our one year anniversary of meeting wouldn't be conducted in the same place as last year." Sirius sighed, shaking his head. "What happened to 'keep out of trouble'?"

"Just ignore me then…" Fred trailed off, looking annoyed. "Concerned fiancé here-"

Sirius waved him off impatiently. "Go away." He groaned. "I've been sitting opposite you for the last hundred hours or so, give me a break."

"Don't be mean to him." Selene tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a cough.

"Mr Black, Mr Weasley, I thought you were to alert me if Miss Malfoy woke?" Madam Pomfrey said, bustling over to Selene's bed, tutting as she went. "Honestly. How are you feeling?"

She directed this last question to Selene, who thought for a moment, before coughing again and trying to sit up. "Like I've been trampled by a herd of Hippogriffs." She said quietly, smiling at Fred, who helped her up. "How long have I been out Madam Pomfrey?"

"A good few days Miss Malfoy." Madam Pomfrey said, waving her wand over Selene and grimacing. "Most of the residue from the Cruciatus Curse-" Selene shivered. "-Hasn't disappeared yet, but I wouldn't expect it to."

"…Cruciatus Curse?" Fred murmured, looking at Sirius, who didn't look biased one way or the other, but a muscle twitched in his jaw. "You didn't even think to _tell me_?"

Sirius shrugged, and Selene winced, ignoring the pain that the gesture brought her. "I didn't think it was any of your concern." He said, in a placid tone. "You weren't there, were you?"

"Well, yeah." Fred said, through gritted teeth. "Mum and Dad wouldn't bloody let me, remember? Just because you got a chance to leave your pathetic house doesn't give you a reason to bait me."

"Calm down, the pair of you!" A stern voice cut in, and Selene looked up gratefully to see Mrs Weasley walk over, quickly but calmly. Her face broke into a smile when she saw Selene, and she gave Fred a quickly pacifying look. "How are you dear?"

Selene smiled back as well as she could, and nodded briefly. "I'm fine thank you Mrs Weasley." She lied; the latter part of her words dissolving into a cough.

"You are most definitely not 'fine'." Madam Pomfrey said disapprovingly, shaking her head. "You're suffering from physical exhaustion, which is another after-effect of the Curse, and you lost a lot of blood. Drink this."

She passed Selene a smoking goblet, which she recognised as a blood-replenishing Potion. It tasted metallic – in fact, exactly like blood. When Selene had swallowed it all, Madam Pomfrey tried to give her a Dreamless Sleep Potion, but seeing the desperate look of Fred, she relented.

"Five minutes." She said sternly. "Okay, okay, ten minutes."

She pulled a screen around them to give them privacy – which Selene was grateful for, because otherwise she knew Sirius would be spying on them – and left Fred and Selene alone.

"You were so reckless." Fred said, after there had been a few moments of pause. "Selene, look, I was really worried about you love. Mum and Dad wouldn't let me go, and Sirius came back all bloody…"

"It doesn't matter." Selene managed another smile, and slipped a fragile hand into his. "It's fine Freddie."

Fred shook his head. "It's not." He said, in a hollow tone. He shifted the chair he was sitting on slightly closer to her, so they didn't have to strain their arms to hold hands as much. "'Leney, I'm so sorry about all of this, about not being able to write to you, not being there when you needed me, every-"

"Be quiet." Selene said, gingerly reaching out to rest her other hand on his shoulder, before kissing him as passionately as she could without hurting herself. "It doesn't matter." She murmured, pulling away after what seemed like a very long time. "You're here now, and that's all that matters Fred."

Fred smiled as well, and kissed her again, pulling away abruptly when Selene flinched. "You alright?" He asked, concernedly.

"Fine."

He spent the rest of their ten minutes talking to her about the shop, and how well they were doing – especially about the run-in that they had had with Oliver Wood (who was now a main player for Puddlemere), and the way he had reacted when he was told that Fred was dating Selene.

Selene could barely stop laughing – especially when Fred mentioned that Oliver had fallen into a tub of Edible Dark Marks, and when he emerged a little kid had asked him for his autograph. "So, yeah." Fred grinned. "Ollie wants to meet you. I don't know why Katie didn't tell him."

"Mr Weasley, that's enough for now." Madam Pomfrey said, walking back into their vicinity and passing Selene the Potion she had tried to give her earlier. "Miss Malfoy needs all the sleep she can get."

"_Please_, Madam Pomfrey…" Fred whined, kneeling down on the floor and adopting a 'please-give-me-what-I-want' pose, with added Puppy-Dog eyes. "_Please…"_

"Fine!" Madam Pomfrey sighed, passing Selene the goblet. "_Just tonight, _okay? And no… funny business."

Sirius appeared again, just in time to see Selene go purple and Fred stutter some kind of assurance that did nothing to pacify Madam Pomfrey. He burst out into raucous laughter, slapping Fred on the back so hard that he was almost sent flying.

"Not you too…" Madam Pomfrey said, taking the empty goblet from Selene. "Selene needs her rest! I will allow Mr Weasley, but not both of you!"

Sirius gave Fred a wary, scathing look. "If you try any funny business, _Weasley…_" He snarled, walking away very slowly. "I will make sure you never see the light of day again."

Selene coughed, trying to laugh again, but her eyelids were already drifting shut. "Leave him alone…" She murmured feeling Fred help her back down again.

"I'll still be here in the morning." Fred said, in a low tone, swinging his legs up onto the bed and sitting next to her. "I love you."

Sirius begrudgingly rolled his eyes, watching his cousin drift to sleep, much too close to Fred, but deciding that to defy Madam Pomfrey's orders would be suicide.

And there was something in both of their expressions that inexplicably reminded Sirius of Lily and James. Of course, Selene was a lot less loud spoken, and Fred's head wasn't the size James's once was, but Sirius instinctively knew that _maybe _he was being a little too harsh on them both.

He looked around a little, and sighed quietly. He would be shut back up in Grimmauld Place soon – he almost wished that Bellatrix had killed him. But Sirius shook his head rather quickly after that thought, and left, casting one parting glance at his baby cousin and his (he squirmed at the thought) soon-to-be cousin-in-law. Fred looked up as Sirius began to move again, and Sirius, for once, gave him a grin.

But if he thought that he could get away with Selene, then Frederick Weasley was deluded. No, Sirius had a lot of interesting things planned for him.


	63. Chapter 62: Your Task

**Gah! I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner!**

**Anyway! Thank you so much for all the positive reviews last chapter, and I tried to do individual review replies through PM, so that's hopefully what I'll remember to do on time for now.**

**Thank you to The souless ones, Gurl5678, Dalonega Noquisi, Blacklab369, Maiannaise, HT118 (x2!), and Guest (well… take that cake and eat it while you can. Hint hint.), and finally dumblesbashing. **

**Who saw Doctor Who? I did- *****pulls out gun and shoots Steven Moffat*******

**Please review! After all, in such bloody horrible weather as I've been having over here in the Midlands, a review is like sunshine…**

**Yep, okay, I'll shut up now. Sorry.**

* * *

"The kids have a new take, a new take on faith." - Hallelujah by R.E.M.

* * *

Chapter 62: Your Task

"No way." Fred shook his head, looking over Selene's shoulder to where she was furiously scribbling on a sheet of parchment. "You've completely finished your exams, why are you doing _more _work?"

Selene giggled, looking up and nodding diligently. "Amazingly, not all of us are first-class slackers." She smiled, passing him the parchment by way of an explanation. "I don't know if there'll be much point now Umbridge won't give me a reference, but it's just a little more work for COEC."

"I'm sure it'll be okay…" Fred trailed off, a little uncertainly. "I mean…"

"It's fine." Selene insisted, withdrawing her hand, as her ribs were beginning to ache once again. "I know when I'm beaten."

It had been a matter of days since Selene had awoken, and although she had almost recovered to full strength, Madam Pomfrey was incredibly reluctant to let Selene out of her sight. However, with the extra precaution, she also got alternating shifts of Fred, Sirius, George, Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Lee and Dora, which Madam Pomfrey hated.

Especially since Dora had decided that 'an appropriate bedside manner' was to make Harry, Ron, Selene and Ginny laugh until water came out of their nose. Not to mention that Fred and George kept 'testing out' their newest products.

Finally Fred had been prised from Selene's bedside, and now was forced to settle on a compromise of deviating between The Burrow (Mrs Weasley was incredibly cautious now Voldemort's return was out in the open), the shop (which was well off the ground now, several times over) and the Hospital Wing.

Amazingly no one apart from those who visited regularly had cottoned on to Fred and George's presence in the castle, mostly down to Madam Pomfrey's insistence that her patients needed rest, and sleep.

"Bloody hell." Ron said, and Fred rolled his eyes. Although the spell was wearing off by now, Ron still had sudden outbursts of idiocy. Everyone had learnt by now to not take him seriously about 'the banana people' and how they were 'going to make everyone into banoffee pie'.

"What is it now?" George sighed, producing a hat from behind his back. Selene gave Fred a curious look, but he grinned and silently 'shushed' her. "Ronald, I've told you before, if you're going to try and prank us…"

There was a flash of theatrical smoke (another product…) and George was standing there, without his head. Ron shrieked like a girl and nearly fell out of the bed, sending Fred into hysterical laughter. George whipped the Headless Hat off his head, and bowed extravagantly to the crowd (who were Neville, Ginny, Selene, Fred, Luna and Harry). "Thank you, thank you!" He called, throwing the hat up into the air and catching it. "For all your Wizarding joking wares, please visit-"

"SELENE!" A furious voice said, and the girl in question looked up in alarm as a flurry of light blonde hair came stalking across the room, before she was being berated at in French. "_How come you didn't tell me? I thought you knew me better than this!"_

_ "I was in Hospital, Fleur." _Selene reminded, answering in the part-Veela's native tongue, managing to smile.

"That." Fred said suddenly, gesturing to Selene. "_That_ is… amazing. See, George, can Angelina speak French?"

"Please don't mention anything that is liable to make me queasy." George sighed, passing the Headless Hat to his twin brother and shaking his head. "It's already bad enough mate, not that seeing Angelina isn't bad but still you two are-"

"Zat eezn't what I meant." Fleur said, in an accent that was still pronounced, but not as recognisable as the year previous. "I zought you were my _meilliure ami, non?" _

Selene blinked, not finding any reasonable explanation, and at any rate she still didn't fully understand. "Fleur, I think I've…"

"_GOT ENGAGED!" _Fleur said, stumbling over her words slightly. She squealed, and threw her arms around Selene. Selene grunted slightly at the force of the hug, which made her ribs twinge horribly.

"Careful…" She murmured, trying to separate Fleur's arm from around her. "It still… hurts a little…"

Before she could blink, Fleur had moved away from Selene, and was standing in front of Fred, her hands on her hips and a slight smile on her face. "Fred Weezly… you will be good to Selene, _non_?"

Fred blinked (having a part-Veela right in front of him wasn't the best thing to aid his concentration). "Um… Yes…?" He said, slightly uncertainly. "I've already gone through this with… well, too many people. Can you give me a break please Fleur?"

"Yeah, it's fine Fleur." Selene cut in. "Fred… Well, I've been dating him for over a year now, and I'm sure he's not going to do anything… Bad…?"

"Oh, come on." Ginny piped up, from the other side of the Hospital Wing. "I'll kill you before you do anything bad Fred. You know, that right?" She asked, in a faux-confused voice. "Or, at least, you won't make it very far before something nasty happens to you…"

"Come on!" Madam Pomfrey called, and Fred groaned. "Out, out, all of you! I told you all, too much noise and you're _all _out! Out!"

Fred sighed. "Come _on_…" He groaned. "I'm quite literally Selene's fiancée Madam Pomfrey…"

"Out!" Madam Pomfrey insisted sternly. "Anyway, Miss Malfoy has been summoned to the Headmaster's office."

Her casual sling-by of that brought several different reactions. George raised an eyebrow, Selene nearly dropped her work, and Fred blinked. "What do you mean?" Selene asked, getting in first.

"Professor Dumbledore…" Madam Pomfrey sighed. "He doesn't think that this can wait, can he?"

"What does he want to talk to her about?" Fred asked, sounding nearly infuriated. "Surely if you know about it then I can go with her too?"

Selene flicked her eyes over to her fiancé, and tried to communicate with him wordlessly. She only relaxed when Fred gave her a nod, and a smile, and finally allowed Madam Pomfrey to hustle him out of the Hospital Wing.

* * *

"Ah, Miss Malfoy!" Professor Dumbledore said, as Selene knocked on his office door. "Come in, my dear, yes, come in!"

He watched Selene walk in, carefully (he supposed that the fading scar on her cheek was some kind of indication to what state she was in) and slowly. Dumbledore had seen her walk into his office many times before – when she was pushed in by her father, back when she was thirteen, when he had received a report from Professor Flitwick on her prowess, and now…

"Good afternoon Professor." She said, in a calm tone, which was admirable given the circumstances of her hospitalisation. But then, Dumbledore supposed, Selene Malfoy was never an ordinary girl. "Um… How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking." Dumbledore smiled down at her pensively, remembering his conversation with Sirius, earlier that morning.

_"No." Sirius said, thumping the desk. "Albus, no."_

_ Dumbledore didn't look swayed, one-way or the other. "It is an essential role." He maintained, with a nod. "Sirius, I understand your protectiveness to Selene, but she is not only of age, but also engaged."_

_ "I might not like Fred, but I doubt he'd like this idea either!" Sirius snapped, moving away from Dumbledore and barely concealing a snarl. "Tell me, are you going to kill her? Selene, a girl barely eighteen, with so much life left in her, people that love her, hell, I would die for her!"_

_ Dumbledore nodded, and smiled. "The power of love is a curious thing." He said, slightly unexpectedly. "I have only met a few people that are lucky enough to know all three."_

_ "Oh, shut up." Sirius groaned, slamming his fist onto the desk again. "I see so much of Lily Potter in Selene, Albus, and so much of James in Fred. They may not be my friends, but I certainly don't want to see either of them dead, Albus."_

_ "What Selene would be doing, is essential." Dumbledore repeated. "And it would fall entirely to her, whether she accepts the role or not. Not you, not Molly Weasley, not Remus, nor Ted Tonks or Fred. Purely her."_

_ Sirius scowled, but moved away once more, fixing Dumbledore with a snarl. "You don't know Selene." He snapped. "She would do _anything _to keep us safe Albus."_

_ Dumbledore smiled, and nodded._

Yes, Selene was so much like Lily. If Dumbledore squinted, then he could almost see red hair. And, although Fred Weasley was very different to Harry's father, their relationship had also been stemmed from hatred, however stubborn and unneeded it had been.

But they also had their differences.

"I assume you wish to join the Order of the Phoenix." Dumbledore guessed, accurately. "And the Order will be glad to have gained such a useful asset. But, in fact, there is an… an opening for a spot we recently gained, a spot that would be perfect for you Miss Malfoy."

And here it came. The flash of fear, then the denial that it had ever happened. Dumbledore almost chuckled – from his discussion with the Sorting Hat after that sorting; she would, and still would be, an excellent Gryffindor. Then the biting of the lip, and the nod. "What would it be?" She asked, in a slightly high-pitched tone.

"We have arranged for Remus Lupin to join a pack of Werewolves, as soon as the next school year commences." Dumbledore said, and watched as Selene went even paler than she normally was. As he suspected, she had guessed of Remus' close relationship to Nymphadora. "And I know he will be in terrible danger if he is not given backup."

"And I'm to be his backup." Selene guessed, her blue eyes wide. Dumbledore nodded. "So… I'll be going with him?"

"If that is what Remus requires, then yes." Dumbledore didn't bother to mention that the possibility of that happening was thin on the ground, coupled with Remus's obviously negative reaction that would inevitably come. "But we also require you at the Ministry, so, in all respects, that will be the official role assigned to you."

Selene didn't answer immediately, so Dumbledore continued. "I understand that your initial instinct would be to inform Mr Weasley and Sirius of this at the very least, but I would prefer this to stay between us."

Dumbledore knew – if not by her expression but by her slow nod, that this would not stay between them. He sighed inwardly, but continued. "I understand that you are still dubious about the status of what will be your job." Dumbledore said, tenting his fingers and looking down at Selene. "I assure you Miss Malfoy, the Ministry will have been glad to gain such a talented witch."

Selene blushed a deep red colour and managed a smile. "Thank you." She said politely.

"Now, if you stay any longer I'm quite sure that Madam Pomfrey will attempt to physically restrain me." Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eyes. "Thank you, Miss Malfoy."

Selene gave him a slightly nervous smile, before leaving the room. "I see what you mean." Phineas Black drawled, from his painting on the wall. "She is a disgrace to the House of Black."

"Come now Phineas." Armando Dippet sighed. "You know that you are only saying that because she isn't the same girl as the one that walked in here when she was eleven."

"It was clear, even then." Phineas sniffed disapprovingly. "That my great-great-great-great-great grandniece would never be a desirable attribute to the House of Black."

* * *

"Look." Selene said, sighing and running a hand through her hair. "It's only for about a week Fred, I'm sure you can live that long."

Fred clutched one hand to his heart dramatically, and shook his head. "But my love!" He exclaimed, his eyes wide. "You know that a month was already too much and now I have seen you again-"

"It's amazing how much he shows off to Selene and yet he hardly says a word to anyone he's actually related to." Ron muttered. Ginny nodded, a little reluctantly, and Selene laughed behind her hand.

"What was that little brother?" Fred asked, turning around. "Or, oh, sorry Miss Skeeter, I mistook your Animagus form for my little brother there. My deepest apologies."

Ron scowled again, while Ginny broke out into full laughter. "I don't see what's so funny." He muttered again.

"Seriously, it won't be long." Selene continued, when Fred didn't answer Ron's admittedly pointless question. "A week. And then I'm probably going to live with you for the rest of your life."

That gave her a little thrill to say – 'the rest of their lives'. Selene knew that the twins were a lot more prepared for this than she was, especially as they hadn't even planned to come back for this last year, but even she had thought of the future. Somehow stating facts made things a lot more… inevitable.

Fred smirked. "I get to annoy you even more than I already do." He grinned, raising his eyebrows. "I got Dad to lend me that Muggle thing I was telling you about. I still don't know how it works."

"It'll be fine." Selene insisted, managing to block out the quiet eavesdroppers (Ginny and Ron). She looked around, realising just where they were, and walked out of the way, into a slightly familiar empty classroom. But no ideas came predominantly to mind. "Look, I'll be fine."

"That obvious?" Fred asked, with a sigh. "I was really worried about you, especially when Dad said that you had gone with Harry and the others. Sure you're not a Gryffindor, 'Lene?"

"Very sure." Selene smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "You're the Gryffindor in this relationship, I'm pretty sure."

Fred smiled as well, and slipped his arm around her shoulders. "Do you think Professor McGonagall would kill me if I decided that George could do without me for tonight?"

Selene blushed, and nodded certainly. "Definitely." She said quickly. "If she finds out I think she'll…" Her voice drifted off, a she searched for something Professor McGonagall was likely to do. "She might try and use you as a Bludger target for next year's Gryffindor team."

"That is, _if she finds out._" Fred whispered into her ear, with a less-than-subtle wink.

"No." Selene said, closing her eyes and silently trying not to give in. "Fred, okay, I get it, you missed me, and Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let you spend the night in the Hospital Wing since just after I woke up, but no, not today. We have _a week_."

"A week too long." Fred corrected. "Come on love. Look." He shifted, so Selene was in front of him. "I solemnly swear that if I spend the night with you then Professor McGonagall, in fact any Professor, will not find out, and no one will care."

Selene sighed. "No." She repeated, although her stubbornness was waning fast. "I'm tired, and I have exactly one week left here."

"The last time you said anything along those lines you ended up falling asleep quite literally in my arms and we both fell asleep in a classroom." Fred reminded her, bringing his lips to her ear again. "And then you bumped your head on a desk…"

"Please don't bring that up." Selene groaned, biting her lip. "Fred, it's a no, okay? We have a week, and I am already sick of this conversation."

It only took a few more moments of silence (coupled with Fred pulling a face reminiscent of when Padfoot tried to attempt puppy-dog eyes) for Selene to crack. "Oh, okay." She groaned. "But please never bring the desk up again."

"Oh, I can't promise that." Fred smirked again. "You are such a pushover. You go out on a limb and then, not ten minutes later, you change your mind."

Selene murmured something under her breath, and shook her head. "I really don't care." She said, in a tone that implied the opposite. "If I went against everything you said nothing would ever get done."

"And that." Fred said delicately. "Is why I love you. One of the many, many reasons. Imagine our children-" Selene flushed red, although she didn't say anything. "- Smart, like you, and adorable, and then world-class pranksters like me and George."

"And they'll probably _all _have red hair." Selene sighed. "I know nothing about genetics, that's a Muggle thing, but I will tell you now, twenty children is both impractical and completely stupid Fred."

Fred chuckled. "I am pretty sure they'll all have red hair." He thought aloud, before wincing. "Oh, that won't be good for anyone's mental health. Think about it, I think Bill and Fleur will have at least three, Charlie… well, no one cares about him, Percy will probably die alone, I'm looking for at the very least four, George probably the same, Ron at least two, Ginny probably thirty… How many mini-Weasleys will that be?"

"Professor McGonagall will probably have a conniption." Selene agreed. "Fred, had Sirius stopped threatening you yet?"

"No." Fred said, rolling his eyes. "He hasn't. Any idea what he actually plans to do to me? Because for once I haven't the faintest idea."

Selene shrugged, glancing up at him through her eyelashes. "Look, Sirius is being silly." She admitted. "I won't let him do anything bad, okay? He just overreacts because my father won't play the part of overprotective father for me."

Her statement trailed off into silence, and Fred sighed. "Look." He stated. "If all of this was just a dream, and you woke up at home, back at Malfoy Manor, and your father only cared that you were dating me because you were his little girl, nothing else, what would he say about me?"

Selene almost laughed at the absolute absurdity of this question, but she followed through with it all the same. "I think he'd say something about how I should aim higher." She admitted. "But then he'd probably give up and… Oh, I don't know. I can't really imagine him being nice about you, or even being protective over me for anything but my marriage contract."

Fred tensed at the casual mention of Selene's near marriage to Theodore Nott. "You know." He said, once he trusted himself to speak without damning Nott to hell. "If you had married Nott, that wouldn't have stopped me."

Selene looked up, almost in surprise. "You mean…" She began, slightly unsure of how that sentence would end.

"I mean I probably would have got you back anyway." Fred sighed. "It seems strange to think that this time two years ago I was still dating Angelina, not planning a serious relationship until I was old enough to really care, and yet here I am."

"Two years ago I was still obsessing over my OWL results." Selene admitted. "Life's much better with you around."

Fred murmured his assent, before a point sparked in his mind. "Oh, yeah!" He blinked, remembering something. "I don't know if you'll remember, but the Welcome Witch from Christmas. Back when we went to see my Dad?"

Selene thought back to last Christmas, not really producing anything other than the cliff-top, and the confessions, and the shop, and Sirius's quiet observation that they didn't come back for hours that night. But she nodded, as she remembered the girl with the blonde hair, and George's pathetic attempt at flirting. "Why?"

"She's our new sales rep." Fred said, with a smirk. "George fucked her up well and good, I think. Shame she's married."

"Shame George had a girlfriend." Selene reminded Fred, suppressing a smile. "Come on, you can't tell me you were always monogamous?"

Fred shrugged. "I dated three girls at the same time back in third year." He said, a little more proud than he perhaps should have been. "And then they all took turns slapping me when they found out."

Selene sighed. "I really fucked _you _up, didn't I?" She asked, regurgitating his words from earlier.

"That you did." Fred whispered into her ear, before moving his lips around to the side of her face and brushing them lightly against her cheek. "If you want me to spread the cheese on at this point, I think I'm feeling in a cheesy mood."

"I'll be okay." Selene smiled. "I can guess what you would say anyway."

"Damn." Fred said jokingly. "That's the problem with marrying a Ravenclaw who also happens to be Head Girl and also smells like strawberries at the same time as being amazingly adorable."

Selene frowned. "Please stop calling me adorable."

"I think I'll just shut up now, then." Fred smirked, before kissing her.

* * *

_I'm standing, alone, in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. I don't know how I got here, or why I am, but I'm standing, and I'm looking around._

_ It's silent._

_ I gasp when I glance at my hands – which are covered in blood. Not my own, I know that much. One of them goes to my mouth, but I jerk it away before any of it can touch my tongue. Did I…_

_ Did I kill anyone? I feel like screaming. Someone calls my name from behind me, and I spin, relaxing as soon as I see who it is. _

_ "FRED!" I scream, running to him. "Oh god, Fred, I… I… What's happening?"_

_ "I don't know love." He says, stepping backwards to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear. "Hey, hey, it'll be okay 'Lene. It always will be."_

_ I relax again, but then a rustle comes from the bushes, and I jump, bringing my wand out of my pocket and holding it outstretched. "Who's there?" I ask, looking around. "Hello? George, is that you? Ange? Sirius? Lily?"_

_ "AVADA KEDAVRA!" Someone yells, and I can only turn and scream, failing to do anything as-_

Selene's eyes flew open, and she brought a hand up to her face, bringing back tears on her fingers. Her breath caught in her throat, as she realised exactly why she had been crying.

She knew that she would be seeing Fred in a matter of two days – one of them being spent on the train to London – but like he had said, seeing her before the date of the end of term, especially when he spent the night, made this whole situation a whole lot tougher to live with.

The dreams were proof of her darkest fears. They told her things that she wouldn't say aloud. Her fear of becoming like her father and her godparents – merciless killers – the fear of being alone, and most of all…

Selene didn't even want to think about it. Sleep was hard enough to come by anyway, and thinking of Fred made it worse. She knew the flippant way that he could pass everything off as being completely okay, and then make some joke about death and dying, but as much as it was intended to help her, it didn't do anything except put her more on edge.

Standing up, Selene walked to the little window in the corner of the dormitory she shared with Cho, Marietta and another girl. The night air was warm – as you would expect from a summer's night, where the moon was crescent-shaped and bright white.

Her hand went to the compass charm around her neck, as Selene stopped at the window, and watched the moonlight flicker off the water in the Black Lake. She let the metal of the necklace filter through her hand, before she dropped it, and it swung back around her neck again.

It took her a little while to get comfortably positioned in the alcove between the window and the dormitory, but she managed it, being able to ignore the slightly uncomfortable feeling of having her knees pressed up against her shoulders. It was slightly – but not significantly – cooler here.

"I'm sorry." She said, aloud to the empty dormitory. "Fred, I'm sorry, but…"

Selene sighed, and shook her head. "I…" She tried again, but the words wouldn't come. "Fred, I… I'm so sorry, but I just can't…"

With another sigh, Selene leaned her head against the window. "I can't do this." She said, again to herself. "I love you, but you know what… Bellatrix said… I can't…"

Selene closed her eyes, and unclasped her necklace from around her neck, getting up and taking her wand from the top of her neatly packed trunk before sitting back in the alcove. "_Invenire_." She murmured, tapping the shell of the compass with the end of her wand.

Almost immediately, the compass hand swirled to life, before it swung around a few times, before pointing due south. Selene leaned her head back against the window, and held the charm tightly in her palm.

"I love you Fred." She said again, to the silent room. "And I promise, if I have to, I will let you go. If it will save you, and George, and Angelina, and Harry and Hermione and Percy and Ron and Ginny and Fleur and Charlie and Bill and Sirius and Dora and Remus and Draco and Lily and… I promise, I will. "

Satisfied by her promise to herself, Selene closed her eyes, and fell asleep.


	64. Chapter 63: Ending An Era

**So, hello!**

**Thank you to The souless ones, Blacklab369, Maiannaise, Dalonega Noquisi, bellatrixD, Gurl5678, HayleyGoth, HT118, Kathie (glad you like it XD) and emmamaysie (here you go!).**

**10 REVIEWS! YAY! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!**

**Please enjoy this everyone, and remember to review!**

* * *

"So hum hallelujah." Hum Hallelujah by Fall Out Boy

* * *

Chapter 63: Ending An Era

Angelina was never one for dramatics, but when she received a letter with the familiarly green envelope, the night directly before the end of term, her reservations flew down to the grounds and danced a jig in the night air.

She whooped loudly, tearing the envelope open and greedily scanning the contents. Alicia, Selene, Katie, and Lee, who were also in the room at the time, exchanged confused glances, as Angelina proceeded to dance around the room, using Alicia's duvet as a cape.

"You okay?" Alicia laughed, standing up to pull the cape (…duvet) off her friend. "That was an extraordinary reaction!"

Lee grinned, tugging, a little uncertainly, on the bright pink overlarge shirt that Katie had forced on him, after proclaiming that – 'if he was going to hang around and generally be weird on a girls night, than he has to dress like a girl!' "Not extraordinary, that was just weird!" He smirked, watching Angelina frown at him. "What? It's true!"

"It's for a good reason though!" Angelina said, calm again, although her voice was still rather high-pitched. Then, giving up, she passed the letter to Alicia, who climbed up on top of one of the beds and began to read it out in a loud voice.

"…_Dear Miss Johnson!" _Alicia read, clearing her throat in an impression of Umbridge, smoothing out the paper, and continuing. "_I am pleased to say that we have read your letter to us, and have decided that you have the right characteristics required for the role of Chaser for the Holyhead…"_

Her voice trailed off in the middle of the sentence, as Katie physically launched herself at Angelina. "OH MY HIPPOGRIFFS!" She squealed, as Lee winced and covered his ears with his nail-painted hands. "The HOLYHEAD HARPIES!"

Selene smiled, getting up to hug Angelina as well. "That's one up from me." She joked, as she pushed her hair out of her face. "Chaser? George is going to be happier than… Um…"

"George is always happy, there is no comparison to make." Lee rolled his eyes, his hands coming down from his ears. "Ooh, Leesh, you're the only Kestrals fan here now aren't you?"

Alicia scowled at him, and threw the reclaimed duvet over his face. "Shut your mouth idiot." She snapped. "Obviously I'm now transferred to the Harpies, considering that my best friend is their new Chaser."

"This duvet smells of perfume." Lee coughed, before throwing it back off himself. "Remind me why I agreed to be here?"

"Because being in a room with Allie and three unfortunately taken girls was your idea of a fun time." Angelina said, hauling the duvet back off Lee and giggling at him. "And it smells like perfume because you smell of perfume."

Lee scowled, pulling at his braided dreadlocks distastefully. "I don't get why Selene just gets to sit there in a jumper and jeans while I have to get the full works." He complained.

"Because you're the one that decided to spend the night with the girls." Angelina explained, for the umpteenth time. "And, like I've said many times before, you look fabulous."

Lee, apart from the perfume and the overlarge pink top, was plastered in makeup – the kind of stuff that most girls wouldn't get through in a month – and his hair had been intricately braided by Katie, as a revenge for when he tried to knot her hair back when she had been a first year and Lee a second.

Not many people had heard much of Lee Jordan, especially now Fred and George had left, but Lee had been so downcast since 'the twins left without him' that that might have been for the best.

"Acid Pops?" Alicia grimaced, lobbing the sweet over to Selene, who caught it in two hands. "You're the only person that I have ever met that can stomach those. We should really try you with Firewhiskey."

Selene shook her head quickly, but Lee turned, and gaped at her in astonishment. "You've never… tried Firewhiskey?" He asked, eyes wide. "Godirc woman, you're dating a Weasley twin, and you're telling me you've _never tried it_?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Selene asked defensively, although she could see that there was no real point in arguing.

"Fifth year." Alicia began, sitting down where she had previously been standing. "Imagine, the crowded common room, we've just won the Quidditch Cup. And Fred and George, after getting all the little ones out of there, decide to crack open the Firewhiskey."

"To cut a long story short." Angelina completed, handing Lee back his duvet and sighing. "They decided, while stoned, mind you, that dancing on the table would be an appropriate source of entertainment."

Selene choked on air. "You mean…" She said slowly, before dissolving into laughter. "Oh, I hope you got a picture."

"We did, but they tore it up before we could get anywhere near it." Alicia said, shaking her head sadly. "Little shits."

"Slagging off my two best friends, who also happen to be dating and engaged to two people in this room respectively, is all well and good." Lee cut in, jumping up and throwing the duvet over Selene, who was closest. "But don't you girls do karaoke? Or dancing? Or sit around and dish the dirt on who you've shagged this week?"

Katie looked at Lee in disgust. "Amazingly, we don't dish the dirt on our 'shags'." She said, wrinkling her nose. "Mostly because three of us are taken, probably for life, and Alicia had taken a vow of purity so she can become a nun."

"Oi, just because you lot are monogamous doesn't mean that I can't shag people." Alicia scowled. "For your information, boys find me very attractive."

"So why won't you date me?" Lee whined; getting down on his knees and shuffling towards the bed Alicia was sitting on. "I'm attractive Leesh, in fact when I dragged Lisa Turpin into a broom closet yesterday she didn't say no…"

Alicia flicked Lee's nose, and shook her head at him. "Lisa had lost her voice." She said, with a raised eyebrow. "And anyone could have seen that she was terrified – well, anyone with two eyes and a brain."

"Leave him alone Allie." Selene said, giving Lee a grin. "Having a reputation as a man-eating giant won't help you much."

"I'm taller than you, my friend!" Allie said, standing up again and smirking. "But still, that doesn't make me a giant. Seriously, I think Bill Weasley was about 7 foot when he left here."

Knowing Bill first hand, Selene raised an eyebrow. "Um…" She said intelligently, a little lost for words. "In fact, Fred and George are taller than him now."

"Details, details." Alicia said delicately.

* * *

"So, you're telling me that Albus is trying to send a girl, only just out of school, into the depths of a Werewolf pack, to help me?" Remus said, his hands shaking. "One of the terms that he agreed with me was that I would be classed as disposable, and that no one would be my backup."

Sirius took a large swig of his Firewhiskey, and grimaced. "He's manipulating her." He said, finally getting the thing that had been on his mind all this time off his chest. "Remus, he is though. Albus knows how vulnerable Selene is to everything, and how much she… relies on Fred."

He said the last sentence like it tasted bad; and Remus laid a hand on his best friend's arm. "Sirius, Fred Weasley is a good man." He said sternly. "And you don't know what terms under which they began dating, and he's already proved himself several times over. You need to calm down, and concentrate on helping him keep Selene safe. Rather than opposing him."

"Right." Sirius said, not convinced. "Because that would help so much Remus. Come off it, I worry about her too much. Albus already sees the parallels between Fred and Selene, I really don't want it to… to…"

When Sirius's courage failed him, Remus spoke up. "Go further." He muttered, the flash of green light echoing in his eyes and the scream that Harry had described to him staying vivid. No, he could see why Sirius didn't want it to go further. Not that it would be the same, but too many lives had been lost already. And two more, especially such young lives, couldn't be risked like that.

"Exactly." Sirius slurred, thumping his glass on the table with a loud sigh. "Selene's like the daughter I wish I'd had, Remus. And, sometimes, is I squint, she… she can be."

Remus managed a smile. "She deserves better than Malfoy, that bastard." He swore. "You are a great father then Sirius. I know Selene loves you as much as you do."

Sirius smiled back, and didn't make a face when Remus withdrew his Firewhiskey supply. "Found a photo album yesterday." He explained, waving his hands wildly. "You know, the one we started back in third year. Think I might give it to Selene, as a late eighteenth birthday present."

"Oh, after we found out I was a Werewolf." Remus nodded, smiling himself. "Brings back memories. Does it still have Harry's teeth marks in it?"

Sirius barked a laugh.

* * *

"We are here today, to celebrate the lives of some of our most celebrated students." Dumbledore said, his arms wide. "Our Seventh Years."

There was a smattering of applause, and Selene shared a glance with Angelina. It seemed a little more… informal than either of them had been expecting. Lee seemed happy though, although his hair was still curly from the curling irons that had been subjected to it the night before.

"They are not going out into the world we thought we knew." Dumbledore said, his tone sombre. "As all of you now know, Lord Voldemort has truly returned. And as such, our well-wishes go up in full force to these, truly remarkable students."

Selene shifted a little uncomfortably, as she felt that Dumbledore was looking at her, along with the echo to Cedric's mortuary speech of the last year. But then the feeling passed.

The twins seemed to have not been invited back (not truly being seventh-years, but they had won the award for the most shared detentions, with Fred having the most detentions), and for this reason the whole proceedings felt a little less whole.

But no one else really seemed to mind this. Selene managed to keep her mind on the speeches, and the presentations (she had got the prize for Charms, which wasn't a surprise really), but still. Angelina seemed a little bored as well.

"It's not really Hogwarts without the twins really." Angelina sighed. Selene nodded, resting her head in one of her hands. "Reckon they're pissed that they weren't allowed to attend this?"

Selene stifled a laugh behind her hand, and shook her head. "They're probably happy." She shrugged, her eyes scanning the rows and rows of teachers and examiners. "It might have been more interesting with Fred and George around though."

"Dumbledore would be dressed in bright green by now, and McGonagall would be singing 'Dance Like A Hippogriff'." Angelina sighed, with a slightly wistful expression.

"At least nothing mad can happen without them around." Selene reasoned, trying to bring her mind back towards where Snape was begrudgingly awarding the Potions award to one of his Slytherins.

There was a faint whizzing sound, and a few of the girls sitting in the row in front shrieked, causing Angelina to roll her eyes. Then there was a shower of sparks that burst into the air, rearranging to form the words:

SNAPE IS A GREASY-HAIRED GIT

Trying and failing to hold in her laughter, Selene shook her head. "I spoke too soon."

* * *

When the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform 9 and ¾ the next afternoon, there was an almost ominous silence in the carriage occupied by Selene, Alicia and Angelina.

"This is it." Alicia stated slowly, turning her head to look out of the window, at the smoke that was clearing.

"This is it." Selene echoed, her eyes flickering over the throngs of families, and managing to sweep her gaze away quickly enough to avoid looking at the tall blonde woman in the very corner of the station.

"No more Hogwarts."

Angelina's statement seemed to make it all the more final, and Selene closed her eyes. "No more homework, no more lessons, no more common rooms…" She trailed off. "No more Snape…"

"That is something I'm quite pleased about." Alicia grinned, shaking her head. "It's hard to miss the same man that's been breathing down your neck for the last seven years."

Selene nodded, lost deep in thought as her eyes drifted back to the waiting families on the platform. Her eyes found old Augusta Longbottom, a woman she remembered from old Pureblood gatherings from her childhood. She looked less anxious then normal, and was looking for Neville, almost proud.

She smiled. Neville was much braver than he considered himself. Maybe he would finally realise that soon.

But still, her eyes kept flickering to the tall blonde woman in the corner of the station, and didn't move, even as everyone else started to pick up their owls and cats and bags. Selene felt as if her mother was looking at her too, and in that moment, it felt like she would be the person she would be going home with, just like two years ago.

The feeling passed. And Selene looked away, and shook her head. Those times were long gone. As much as she wanted to feel like she had a mother again, she knew that going to the Manor would be suicide in it's purest form. And she found the gathering of Weasleys, and they looked like home to her now.

"You okay?" Angelina asked her, and Selene looked up, meeting the eyes of one of her best friends. She smiled, and nodded, taking Crescent's cage and glancing back at the window once more.

"Just… nervous." She guessed on her feelings, which seemed to be a large bright white mess. Nervous had to be one of them. After all, she was going into a war-torn world, to go against every value she had been brought up with to save the ones she loved and the values she believed in. Anyone would be nervous. "And a little nostalgic."

Angelina nodded. "I can see the twins." She said astutely, before pulling a face. "Oh god, what _are they wearing_?"

Selene couldn't see many people's distinct faces, but she nodded as she saw two tall red heads, standing slightly to one side, apart from the main group of red heads. She squinted, trying to see what Angelina was referencing, but she shrugged.

"Those two wouldn't know fashion sense if it danced naked in front of them wearing Dumbledore's hat." She smiled, using one of George's many 'patented' expressions.

"You wouldn't know fashion sense if it danced naked in front of you wearing Trelawney's glasses." Angelina smirked back. "Come on. Waiting here won't do much for your nerves."

The corridors had begun to clear, but they still had to make their way through a fair few stragglers to get down onto the platform, but luckily Cress still stayed asleep, otherwise there might have been a few talon-related injuries. There seemed any more people now they were on the same level as them, and Selene tripped over her own feet a few times, while trying to avoid walking into people.

"Is this her then?"

Selene started, swinging around to see Neville looking slightly pink, and Augusta Longbottom nodding at her, like she approved of something. "I remember you when you were much younger my girl." She boomed, turning Selene to a shade that could rival Neville's. "Very pleased to hear about your engagement my dear."

"Um…" Being faced with a near stranger wasn't on her bucket list for the day, but Selene forced herself to smile back. "Thank you Mrs Longbottom."

"Neville was just telling me about Harry Potter." She boomed again, thumping Neville's back. "They're good friends, he tells me!"

Selene nodded again, spotting Harry with his aunt and uncle behind her, and smiling once more at Augusta Longbottom. "I'm sorry, I have to go and say goodbye to my… my god-cousin." She blurted, trying to think of a way to not draw more attention to herself. "It was nice to see you again Mrs Longbottom."

"You too!" Augusta called, as Selene walked off, making a beeline for a large, fat man that had to be Vernon Dursley, and a horse-faced woman that was Petunia. They seemed to be talking to Harry rather harshly, but (probably due to only having to spend two weeks with them) Harry looked largely unfazed.

It took a lot of courage for her to walk up to the pair of them, but it all became worth it when Harry turned and smiled at her. "Bye Selene." He said, hugging her and ignoring the Dursley's snorts and curious looks. "Keep Sirius okay for me."

"Excuse me, who are you?" Vernon Dursley had a voice that matched his outward appearance – loud and low. "We don't want our nephew to have too many friends at… at…"

Selene managed a smile that might have come out as sarcastic as she so badly wanted it to become. "I'm Selene." She said, deliberately missing off her last name. "Harry's god-cousin."

Vernon spluttered (Harry had _another _unknown family member?) and Petunia's mouth shrunk to the size of a prune. Harry hugged Selene again, and smiled. "Let me know when you finally decide the wedding details." He teased.

Selene's face flushed a little, especially after Petunia sniffed. "I really don't know when that'll be, but you can be a bridesmaid." She said lightly, ruffling Harry's hair. "See you soon, Harold."

"Sellie." Harry stuck out his tongue as Selene walked away. "Please write!"

After Vernon and Petunia thought she was out of earshot, they began to spark up conversation again. "Do your kind normally get married at, what, eighteen, then?"

Selene bit back another smile, and walked straight over to where the Weasleys were waiting. Mrs Weasley was nearest, and she scooped Selene up in a hug before she could protest.

"You keep safe." It was clear as the red hair on the top of Mrs Weasley's head that she was less than happy that Selene was going to be living with Fred and George, but she made no audible comment about that as she let go of Selene. "Don't worry about Sirius, he'll be fine. Remember to never let either of the twins cook, or-"

"I'll be fine Mrs Weasley." Selene laughed.

Mrs Weasley shook her head. "How many more times? Call me Molly."

"Leave her alone Mum…" Selene didn't even have to look behind her to know that Fred had eventually got bored and walked up. "Everyone knows you're called Molly, as that's been your name for about 100 years."

"You may not live with me any more but you're still my son and I won't tolerate that kind of joke from you!" Mrs Weasley said sternly. "Goodness knows what I'm going to have to do to make you two finally hurry up with the wedding plans. A miracle, probably."

Selene bit her lip, and turned around to face Fred. "Oh, hi." She said, with an air of nonchalance. "I didn't… er, see you there."

"Then you must finally need glasses love." Fred smirked, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "See ya Mum, Ron, Ginevra-" Ginny stuck her tongue out at him and gave him the finger when their mother wasn't looking. "Yes, we'll be home for Sunday dinner."

Before Selene could say her goodbyes, Fred had propelled her back over to George and Angelina who were talking amongst the two of themselves. He stopped, a little while before them, and ducked around a pillar in the platform.

"Never got to say hello." He smirked, before kissing her so hard that it made Selene's knees give way beneath her.

"Hello?" She responded, once her breath had returned. "It's only been a week Fred, not a month like before."

Fred chose to ignore this, and instead pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head. "Still missed you." He murmured, pulling away after a few moments. "And worried."

"I wasn't going to go on a mad rampage to save someone who won't need rescuing again, if Dumbledore has anything to do with it." Selene sighed, but she smiled all the same. "I missed you too Fred, okay? But you don't have to be worried."

"We've had this conversation too many times before." Fred said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand. "Come on. Did I tell you? We finally got the kitchen cleaned yesterday, as George burnt it up with one of his 'experiments'."

"I take offense to that." George pouted, hugging Selene and giving Fred two fingers as a single response. "You're worse."

Angelina stepped in here, a glint in her eye. "You're both as bad as each other."

"Are-" George began.

"-We?" Fred finished for his twin, exchanging a mock shocked look with George and raising an eyebrow. "Never noticed, really."

* * *

_"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Someone yells, and I spin, and Fred falls to the ground-_

Selene sat bolt upright, her eyes wide. She looked to her left, towards the window that looked out over Diagon Alley, and watched the moon make its progress.

Her 'room' (which wasn't really 'her room', not yet) was covered in papers, mostly old boxes and order forms, except for her trunk, which was half-open, at the end of her bed. A few clothes were strewn out of it (…Fred), and one of Selene's amazing multitudes of books was resting on the bedside table, held in place by a bookmark.

Waking up in an almost entirely new place was an experience Selene was unfortunately familiar with, but she managed to shake those thoughts away as she pulled on a jumper and walked out of her room, shutting the door carefully behind herself and making a line for the kitchen.

She pulled one of the mismatched mugs down out of one of the cardboard boxes that were apparently 'cupboards', and grabbed one of the few Muggle items the twins possessed, which was a tub of hot chocolate powder.

Chocolate was one of the few things Fred and George both swore by, and Selene chucked a little of it in there, using an abandoned teaspoon to carry it, and then pouring hot water out of the end of her wand, after she had mistaken hers for a trick one, which turned into a rubber chicken.

"Can't sleep?" Selene jumped, but then realised who it was and relaxed. "Tell me about it, everyone's jumpy nowadays."

"I know George." Selene sighed, blowing on the drink carefully, before taking a sip. "You neither?"

George shrugged, grabbing the hot chocolate off Selene and smirking at the amount that was left. "Now I know why Fred sometimes gets up at midnight." He grinned, shaking his head.

They both settled into a comfortable silence, and Selene walked over to the window of the kitchen, which overlooked the passage just to the east of Diagon Alley, often used for deliveries to shop and the occasional lost traveller. Fred seemed to be snoring, and Selene cracked a smile.

"Nightmares too?" George was very perceptive, although he didn't let on. Selene nodded, turning back to him.

"Always the same, this whole week." She sighed, taking another sip and scalding her mouth. "I've hardly been able to sleep."

George just stood there, with one eyebrow raised, and Selene sighed. "It's the Forbidden Forest." She began, sitting at the windowsill. "I'm with Fred, and someone just springs up and… A-a-a-and t-t-"

Selene shook her head, furiously rubbing at her eyes and brushing her cheeks clean, biting her lip and willing her heart rate to slow. Wasn't telling someone _supposed _to help? Not turn her into a nervous, quivering wreck? But then, most advice she had ever been given had turned out to be false, so who was she to complain at one more fragment?

"They kill him." She managed to say, before swallowing, and closing her eyes, rubbing at her cheeks again and shaking her head. "George, they just… will it happen, or is it just… me being…?"

George was silent, and he wordlessly moved to stand next to her, giving her a one-armed hug that spoke slightly of sibling companionship. Then he sniffed himself, and Selene swallowed again, looking up at him with wide eyes.

But he wasn't crying, not quite, although his eyes looked a little watery. "Let's not talk about that." He suggested, with a weak laugh.

Selene nodded, and kissed him on the cheek. "I missed you too as well Georgie, you know?" She said, before leaving her mug on the side and walking back out to the hall.

She checked behind her once more, before walking into Fred's room and closing the door quietly behind her.

"'Lene?"

Selene nodded, knowing that he could probably see her; the light from the lamps outside in Diagon Alley was so bright. "I'm okay." She said, almost believing the lie herself.

And as she quietly climbed in beside him, and Fred held her close, she could almost believe that there wasn't going to be any fears, and there was nothing to worry about.

But there was, and Selene knew that she had to confront them sometime or other. But…

They could wait.

* * *

When George finally began to move back to his room, he felt compelled to check on his twin, just in case.

He pushed the door open, and cracked a smile. Selene had done what he expected her to do, and now she was curled up so close to Fred that he might have mistaken them for being one and the same.

Maybe Angelina might still be lumbered with annoying parents, and still might not be happy to actually make their relationship permanent, but he wished for something akin to what Fred and Selene had.


	65. Chapter 64: Casualties Of War

**Hello everyone!**

**Thank you to my lovely reviewers – The soulless ones, bellatrixD, Blacklab369, Dalonega Noquisi, GUrl5678, Maiannaise, HayleyGoth and HT118.**

**And my followers and favouriters, of course.**

**Right. Beeswax. One, I am now a Beta-Reader. For Death, Decay and Diffindo, and Harry Potter/ Walking Dead crossbreed. Yep, I know. Two.**

**You will probably all hate me. BUT PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T ABANDON ME! I love you all so much – you are all my best friends. Really. And although you will hate me, I hope we can get past that stage and into a phase where you understand that I am having a Steven Moffat phase and this really has to happen.**

**But you get fluff, right? Enjoy that. **

**And please review. And remember what I just told you. Also, if you get the Doctor Who reference I will… Dunno. Haven't thought of that yet. I just hope someone notices!**

* * *

"Durch das Gedränge, der Menschenmenge, bahnen wir uns den altbekannten Weg." - Tage Wie Diese by Die Toten Hosen [Through the elbowing of the bustling crowd we're paving the old familiar way. Sorry it's in German. I just love the song.]

* * *

Chapter 64: Casualties Of War

When Fred woke the next morning, he could smell strawberries. He smiled slightly, shifted, and glanced down at the girl in his arms.

Selene looked so delicate when she was asleep, in his opinion. Like a china doll. A little like her mother, to be honest. He could see the family resemblance, at least. Slightly curly hair, that brown colour he had come to adore so much strewn across her face, and her pale, unmarked skin so very prominent against his freckles.

He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and smiled. Maybe he finally understood what it was like to really love someone. His parents had talked to him about it, when he was around fifteen, but he had scoffed and said that he was about the chase, not the capture.

Certainly, he had to chase Selene, but this capture was even sweeter than the chase in this instance. Just more proof that maturity maybe wasn't so bad after all. Not that he would _ever _tell George that.

But he knew for certain that he would never let Selene go. It would be hard – she would make it hard, she would try to be a martyr and give what she had up just to save them – but his stubbornness could come in incredibly handy on some occasions, and now was one of those times.

Selene's eyes flickered open, and for a moment she blinked, one hand going up to rub the sleep out of them, and then she glanced upwards, and met Fred's gaze with a smile. "Good morning." She said, in a voice adorably still thick with sleep. "You okay?"

Fred laughed. "I'm fine 'Lene." He rolled his eyes, and then sighed. "You up for a day full of people, jokes and the amazing Weasley twins?"

"It's only for a few hours, Sirius might break down the front door if he doesn't see me soon." Selene admitted, sitting up. "What time is it?"

Fred checked his watch, and swore. "Fifteen minutes." He said, thumping his head back down on the pillow. "George normally wakes me up."

"You really aren't much of a morning person, are you?" Selene giggled, reaching up to kiss his cheek. "I don't get you sometimes."

"You're not supposed to." Fred shrugged, before kissing her on the lips and sighing again. "Are you sure Sirius will break the door down?"

"…Pretty sure, yes."

* * *

Much to Selene's amazement, George could actually cook something without burning it. Granted, if the mess in the kitchen was any indication, then it had at the very least taken him a while, but the waffles that came out of it didn't look poisoned, or even burnt.

Even so, Selene was a little wary about eating one.

"Are you sure these won't kill me?" She asked, picking one up and regarding it mistrustfully.

George scoffed, and waved a hand. "Oh, we'd both be dead by now if they were killer waffles." He said airily, ignoring Fred's splutter. "Several times over, I daresay."

Selene raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment audibly, as then there was a tinkling noise from downstairs, and the sound of a door opening and shutting. The twins both grinned in tandem, and Selene looked from one to the other, feeling both confused and surprised.

"Verity." Fred said, as way of an explanation, a second before George left. "Remember? The grumpy Welcome Witch who literally would join a bloody joke shop to get away from her work."

"Ah, Verity!" George called, from the ship beneath them. "Good to see you! Fred's just upstairs-"

"HELLO VERITY!" Fred yelled, tugging Selene out of the door and pulling her down the narrow stairs. "Verity, this is my fiancée Selene Malfoy, Selene, this is Verity Lambert, our shop assistant."

All of this happened so quickly, Selene wasn't completely sure of what was happening, but then the blonde woman, who Selene recognised as the Welcome Witch from all that time ago, took Selene's hand and shook it.

"Good to finally meet you." She said, in a slight American drawl. "Fred _never _shuts up about you, it almost feels like I know you already."

"Never?" Selene laughed. "Wow, I didn't know it was that much. It's nice to meet you too."

Verity nodded, and then she narrowed her eyes. "Hey, Malfoy…" She trailed off thoughtfully. "Aren't they the snotty family that recently had one of their lot go into Azkaban?"

You could cut the tension in the atmosphere with a knife. Fred and George instinctively tensed, and Selene bit her lip. But then she smiled again, and nodded, laying a single hand on Fred's arm to stop him from getting angry. "Yes." She said, the words a little muffled, but still understandable. "I'm one of them. I mean, I was."

"Sorry." Verity had the grace to look a little flustered, but she hid it well. "I... I mean, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay." Selene smiled, a little shakily. "People are bound to ask. You're not the first. Don't worry about it."

Verity nodded, looking a little less unstable about it, and then shot a single, brilliantly pearly white grin at Selene, before walking over to the desk with the old-fashioned Muggle-looking till on the top of it, placing her bag to one side and re-applying her lipstick from a bright crimson tube. "You know, the things Fred says about you are almost indecent to say in company." She smirked, as Selene went purple.

"No, I don't, that was George!" Fred said quickly, pointing a finger at his twin, who shrugged. "I swear 'Lene, I didn't say a word about anything!"

"It's time." George cut in, checking his watch. "Selene, uh Verity, could you…?"

"Sure, Mr Weasley.' Verity said professionally, sending Selene a wink. "Come right back here Miss Malfoy."

Although taken aback at the abrupt turn at the change in the conversation, Selene did as Verity asked, following her back through to the back room, which was considerably neater and more organised than the last time Selene had seen it.

"You'd be amazed how many people come in." Verity sighed, passing Selene a few boxes. "Mr Weasley and Mr Weasley-" She sent Selene another wink, and raised her eyebrows expressively. "And we always need refills of everything. That's your job for now. Just put the boxes where there are gaps."

Selene nodded, shifting the boxes already in her arms, and pushing her bracelet away from some of them. Verity passed her a few more, before grinning, and opening the door.

The shop was almost full already, and Selene blinked to believe it. Everywhere, there were people. Little kids with their parents anxiously hovering over them, some people she recognised from Hogwarts, a few older adults that were clustered over the Muggle tricks section…

"We do have a flair for business." Selene turned, and stifled a smile at the obnoxious shade of magenta robes that Fred was wearing, especially at the way they clashed with his bright red hair. "Like the colour, do you? Oh, that reminds me."

He flicked his wand at the Muggle skirt and top that Selene had thought was acceptable for a morning of working in a joke shop, and they turned the same violent shade as Fred's robes.

"That's better." He said, nodding appreciatively. Then he walked over, dropping a kiss on her cheek as he left, to a slightly lost old woman that looked to be looking for a present for her granddaughter's birthday.

Verity was right – the shelves did need restocking in amounts that were insane, especially since many people brought in bulk, mostly the ones that looked to be around Hogwarts age. After all, with Fred and George gone there was a space for chief prankster.

Everyone seemed to assume that Selene was just another employee of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, to the point where she was continually asked for help and directions.

"Excuse me?" Selene spun around, slipping the last Skiving Snackbox onto the shelf where it lived. She was faced by a tall young man, with brown hair and a set of blue and green robes. He seemed a little familiar, but his name and where she had seen him before slipped her mind. "I was lookin' for some Muggle tricks."

His accent was Scottish, and Selene blinked at him for a moment, before realising where she was and what the man had just asked her for. "Oh, of course." She said easily. "They're just over the-"

"Oliver!"

Selene was cut off by George walking up, smiling broadly and extending his hand to the man, who shook it with a smile. "It's good ta see ya 'gain mate." Oliver grinned.

"Oliver," George waggled his eyebrows, before gesturing to Selene. "Remember I told you how Fred's getting settled down with someone? Well, you've just met the lucky lady. Oliver, meet Selene Malfoy. Selene, this is Oliver Wood."

Selene resisted the urge to facepalm, and shook Oliver's calloused hand with a smile of her own. "Finally." Oliver grinned, before taking her aback by kissing her hand. "I meet tha' lovely Selene."

Aware that she must be a pink that matched the colour of her skirt, Selene smiled weakly. "Katie talks about you a lot." She said, trying to mask her embarrassment.

"Fred talks about you a lot." Oliver smirked, having noticed her blush. "Don' worry, I 'ave that kinda affect on tha' ladies Miss."

"I hope you're not flirting with my fiancée Oliver." Fred rolled his eyes, also walking up, and shoving George off to deal with something or other. "It's very like you to flirt with her, even when you're dating one of her best friends and she's engaged to me."

If it was possible, Selene went even redder, and masked this by picking up the rest of the boxes and biting her lip as Fred slipped his arm around her waist. "So, how is Puddlemere?" She asked, trying to diffuse the tension.

"Well, the Quidditch season 'asn't started as of yet." Oliver began. "But otherwise pretty good. 'Ow are you two gettin' on then?"

"Oh, fine." Selene smiled, moving her boxes to her other arm. "I'll be starting training for the Committee on Experimental Charms in August, but until then I'm going to be working around here."

"With me." Fred cut in, kissing Selene on the cheek. "Oh, did I ask you? Oliver, would you be willing to test out-"

Oliver shook his head hastily. "I am not testing anything of yours. Ever. Katie told me how you made her nose bleed once, and I'm not taking any chances."

Selene bit back a smile, and shook her head as Fred and Oliver began to argue about something. She walked off again, and left them alone.

Mainly because it seemed pretty clear that the subject would not remain in neutral territory for long.

* * *

"Why do you have to go?" Fred whined, as Selene made to leave the shop later that day, a few moments after Verity had gone to do a little but of tidying up. "Oliver might be back and he'll gang up on me…"

Selene laughed, giving George a hug before walking over to Fred. "I'll try not to be too long." She grinned, kissing him gently. "Sirius knows about you _Freddie_…"

Fred smirked, kissing Selene again, before pulling away and flicking her necklace. "I'm at the end of your necklace love." He said quietly. "Always have been, always will be."

"For the love of god, please don't start doing anything weird." George groaned, thumping his head on the side. "Mum told me that Scougifying your own brain doesn't turn out well."

Selene flicked her gaze up to Fred, before smiling again, and turning around. "I need to go now." She said, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I'll let you guys know how Sirius is when I get back, okay?"

"Hmm." Fred said, but then he kissed her again. "See you later then love."

* * *

"Hello?" Selene called, as she closed the front door of Grimmauld Place behind her and carefully skirted the troll umbrella stand. "Sirius? Remus? Dora? Are any of you here?"

There was no response, so Selene flicked the light switch on and took off her jacket, hanging it on the slightly dusty coat hooks along the left wall. Some of the wallpaper was peeling, but that could be changed. After all, Grimmauld Place couldn't stay the way it was forever.

No one was in the kitchen either, so Selene gathered up the dirty plates and pots and pans and mugs strewn across the kitchen table, filling the sink with water from her wand and tipping the crockery in. Then she got one of the tablecloths from the drawers, and arranged it over the big black burn streak that made her smile to see it, even now.

"Sirius?" She called again, waiting for some conformation that he was here. Selene heard a creaking noise from the floors above, and she spun on the spot, apparating with a crack onto the third floor hallway, just outside of Sirius's room.

Selene knocked on the door. "Sirius?" She asked, a little quieter. There was another creak, and Selene laid her palm against the cool wood of the door. "It's Selene. Are you okay?"

The door creaked beneath her palm, almost like an invitation, and so Selene pushed, walking into Sirius's room carefully and quietly.

Sirius was lying on his back, on the bed, right in the far corner of the room. His room was covered in red and gold colours, the colours of Gryffindor, and it smelled like mothballs, but also cheap Muggle men's deodorant. Sirius didn't seem to see Selene come in, and so she moved over to the desk on the left, picking up the photograph on his desk.

It was the Gryffindor Quidditch team, judging by the red and gold robes and the broomsticks in their hands. Selene smiled, as she found a young, handsome boy with black hair, standing to one side. She flipped it over, and bit her lip as she read the caption.

_Gryffindor Quidditch Team: 1976_

"Me and James were on that team." Sirius finally spoke, but he didn't move his head. "We won that year as well."

"You were a Beater." Selene stated, placing the photo frame back down. "Like Fred and George."

Sirius barked a laugh, finally sitting up and walking over to her. "Nothing like them, the pansies."

They hugged, and Selene laughed too. Sirius felt a lot less thin than he had done, like he'd had several good meals in a row, and he look less unkempt, and slightly less tired, as the dark rings from around his eyes had disappeared.

"I missed you 'Leney." He smiled, as they pulled away, with a grin. "I swear you look more and more like Andromeda every day. I remember when she was your age – she married Ted when she was eighteen. _No, I am not giving you any ideas_."

Selene laughed as well, at his clarification. "I swear we're not worried about that." She insisted. "It's more a promise than anything yet Sirius. How have you been without everyone? It must be pretty lonely."

"Oh, you know…" Sirius stretched, and then padded over to the small bookshelf in the corner of the room. "Harry only has to spend a week with horse and pig, so that's something to look forwards to, and then you're here now. Remus comes over every other day, and Dora sometimes pops around with Lily, and even Andromeda dropped off some stew the other week."

He pulled a leather bound, black book off the shelf, flicked it open, and nodded. Then he turned back towards Selene, who was still hovering next to the desk. Sirius grinned again, and then walked back over to the bed in the corner, taking a seat on the edge and patting the spot adjacent to him.

"Look at this." Sirius said, opening the book to the inside cover. A few old, yellowed envelopes almost fell out, but he pushed them back up with a shake of his head. "Look at those another time 'Leney."

Selene shifted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Sirius tensed slightly, but then he calmed, and his arm went around her waist. He flicked the first page over, and pointed to the first picture – or, more rightly, photograph.

Selene started, and her lips parted slightly as a name came off her tongue. Sirius nodded sadly, as Selene touched the younger Sirius, and the even younger Regulus with a delicate hand. They were smiling and laughing, Sirius in the plain black robes that marked out a first year before sorting, and Regulus in a slightly smaller version.

"Old Uncle Alphard took that photo." Sirius said wistfully. "You would have liked him 'Leney. Well, he liked anyone in our family that had a couple of brain cells to themselves. He funded me after I left this house."

Selene smiled, and withdrew her hand from the photograph. "You two look so young…"

Sirius barked another laugh, and nodded. "Regulus was about nine then. You might remember him as a Death Eater, well I remember him as a screaming toddler."

Talking about Regulus in such simple tones made Selene relax, and she turned the page with Sirius, and grinned as she saw a photo of the Marauders – all four – stuck in. Sirius nodded, and then he flicked past it, his eyes hardening when he saw Peter Pettigrew.

The whole album was full, up until the very last photo, which was of Lily, James and Harry, on Harry's first birthday, and Harry was zooming around on a toy broomstick. Selene sighed slightly, then looked at Sirius in surprise as she closed it, and handed it gently to her.

"Look." He said, his voice a little thick with emotion, and then he changed tack slightly, and laughed as he pointed to a set of teeth marks quite obviously sunk into the leather. "Oh, that was Harry." He explained, at Selene's curious gaze. "James could never… Well…"

"What was it like?" Selene said quickly. "You said that James's parents treated you like a son. What was it like…?"

Sirius sighed himself, his hand splayed over the leather album. "Mrs Potter made the most excellent porridge." He said nostalgically. "Mr Potter used to work from home, we weren't allowed in his office. But he let us borrow the family brooms and… Well you know… Having a family like that was… Magical."

Selene dropped her gaze, and studied her hands. "The Weasleys mean well…" She admitted, her breath catching. "But, until recently I was just Fred's girlfriend. I know no one expected it to last for long at all, least of all me."

"Look." Sirius repeated, and his voice was thick once again. "There are many, many blank pages in this photo album. Almost half the book. We never got to fill it up as much as I wanted to. But you can fill it up easily, after all. Don't you have all those snapshots from Beauxbatons, and you mentioned that one of your friends has some from the last couple of years. And I can see Fred as being one for family albums."

Selene looked back down at the album, then back up at Sirius. "You're okay with it?" She said, a little uncertainly. "Me marrying Fred, and having kids, and carrying on two pureblood lines through another that has just been cast out?"

"I'm proud of you." Sirius said, the thickness deepening, and he swiped at his eyes almost playfully. "Really, 'Leney. You're a beautiful girl. Just call one of your kids after me? What about Sirius James? That's a brilliant name."

Although he was joking, Selene could hear and feel the weight of his words, and she was crying and hugging him again. Tears were streaming down her face, and she was sobbing as she clung onto the man she saw as a father, ever since her own father had cast her out so publically. And it felt like home. It smelt like home baked bread, and told her of better times.

And the tears streamed down her face, and she let all her inhibitions go in a full force that would have shrugged anyone that had known the shy girl of barely three years before. Sirius barely knew what to do, but letting her cry seemed to be right.

"You'll still be around to meet any kids I have Sirius." Selene said, once her tears had stopped and she was brushing the tracks off her face, ignoring the salty taste. "I know you will."

Sirius nodded, and let her go, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. "I'm going to give them all dog cuddly toys so they grow up thinking that Grandad Sirius is the coolest around."

"I love you Sirius." Selene laughed, through her tears, and then stood up, clutching the photograph album in her hands like it might disappear if she didn't hold it so tightly. "This… this means a lot to me, truly."

Sirius smiled again, following Selene to standing height and then stretching his arms out. "Come on." He said, opening the door to the hall and taking a last cursory glance around his old room. "We've got a bit of catching up to do. Remus told me how to make waffles the other day!"

Despite the fact that Selene had eaten waffles only that morning, she nodded, and followed Sirius out of the room, the door swinging shut behind them.

* * *

Selene placed the black leather-bound photograph album on top of the Gryffindor scarf and one of Fred's Weasley jumpers, before waving her wand and closing the lid of the box.

"What's that?"

Selene jumped, but when she realised the identity of the speaker she relaxed. "Sirius gave me a photo album." She admitted, walking over to Fred and kissing him. "I think it was his way of saying that he's okay with me growing up now and he isn't going to kill you now."

Fred made an exaggerated performance of wiping imaginary sweat off his forehead, and laughed when Selene rolled her eyes. "Yes, I admit, I don't think he'd ever kill me, he doesn't want to go back to Azkaban again."

"Hmm." Selene murmured, biting her lip.

"Sorry." Fred said quietly, once he realised that mentioning Azkaban again in passing conversation might not be the best idea. After all, she had barely worked past it with Verity, and that was purely for appearance's sake. "I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay." Selene insisted. "We'll never get anything done if we keep skirting around the point."

Fred sat down on the sofa, wincing as it creaked slightly under his weight. "You willing to tell me now, or is it better if we wait?" He asked, in a non-committal voice – as if he could guess what Selene would say.

But Selene took a deep breath, and nodded, sitting next to him, getting a little sense of déjà vu as she did so. Fred seemed a little surprised as well, but he didn't comment as Selene leaned into him so closely that they might as well have been one person.

"If we're doing this marriage thing." Selene tried to keep her voice light, taking several leaves out of Sirius's book, but ultimately failing. The parallels were almost too close to bare thinking about. So she gave up. "Fred, I'm basically disowned. Father seemed to have done at least one thing before he… He went to Azkaban, and that was chucking me out for good."

And so it continued. Selene sat there, pouring her heart out in short, sharp little bursts to Fred, who seemed shell-shocked in a way he should never be as she admitted whole truths, truths of how her family got her to submit when she was younger, truths as to why she was so scared of her godparents, truths of why Lucius Malfoy escaped prison the first time around, why she didn't go to Hogwarts to begin with, why she was scared to be in Ravenclaw, all about Andy and Cedrella and Sirius and why her disownment meant so much now…

Then the truth about how she almost… How she almost became a Death Eater.

But the rest wouldn't come. She stopped mid-sentence. And Fred noticed.

"It's okay," He insisted, trying to walk closer to her, but Selene shook her head. "Selene, come on. What is it about… _This_?"

"I…" Selene stuttered, looking at Fred's face in the dim light from the lamp above them, watching how it seemed to flicker over his features in a way that almost made him seem…

Unstable?

Unlike himself?

Like someone else?

Then Selene let out a sharp cry of pain, like her whole mind was screaming. She screamed herself, dropping to the floor, both her hands flying to her head as if that might stop the pain.

The world spun, and Selene heard Fred trying to console her, talk to her, tell her that everything would be all right. George was in here now to, and then she was crying, as her eyes flickered shut.

Then came the nightmares.

"_She's not as smart as we thought." Rodolphus was saying, as he looked up at a blazing fire; that was just out of Selene's eyesight to see properly. _

"_At least Lucius still left that Tracker spell in his documents." Yaxley responded, with a feral grin. Selene tried to spin, to see the inferno, but she couldn't see anything. It was like she was _in _the body of her Godfather._

_And her head still hurt. The already faint voices of Fred and George were growing fainter by the second. Selene screamed again, but that didn't dispel the nightmare._

"_Always hated Ravenclaws. At least they make mistakes." Rodolphus sniffed, sneering as he looked up. "We'd better get out of here. The Order will be here soon."_

"_I still can't believe that spell's busted though." Yaxley scowled, giving Rodolphus a glare. "Lucius was never one for spell creation."_

_Rodolphus shrugged. "Oh, it was little Princess's." He said flippantly, and Selene's blood ran cold. 'Little Princess' was her. "Made it back when she was fourteen, I doubt she knows her father nicked it."_

"_No no no no no no…" Selene murmured, as she could only see the dark, dark of the night. Thoughts began to swirl around her head – thoughts of sitting in the library all that time, creating that spell. She had been so proud of herself, but she'd…_

_Lost the notes. _

_Although she knew that they couldn't hear her, Selene began to scream at them. "TURN AROUND!" She yelled, feeling tears prick at her eyes. Something terrible was lurking in the corner of her eye. "TURN AROUND GODDAMNIT!"_

_Maybe… No, they couldn't have heard. But Rodolphus halted in his steps, and begrudgingly turned around once more._

_And Selene…_

_She…_

Selene screamed, a noise that was both haunting and disturbing as her eyes flew open again, and her breathing grew more and more erratic. Fred still didn't let go of her, despite the fact that she had begun to shake, and the window blew out across the room. George was on her other side; wand in hand, and the expression in his eyes made it clear that he thought something bigger was at hand.

The Order had been informed of Selene's breakdown, but no one had responded yet. Why not? George, for once, was truly lost. Selene was shattered, his twin was broken, and he didn't know what to do.

Angelina was in Holyhead for her training camp. Alicia would still be at her parent's. Katie was in Greece. Lee… God knows where Lee was. He was most likely out on the town.

Andromeda, Ted, Sirius, Dora… They would all be with the Order.

"No no no no no…" Selene murmured again, and she was still shaking. George repaired the broken glass with a swish of his wand, trying to stop staring at one of the people he considered strong, in pieces.

"'Lene, what's wrong?" Fred said, his arms not doing anything to keep her still, despite his efforts. Selene was still hyperventilating, and crying silent tears down her face. "Selene, please…"

Selene just shook her head slowly, then let out another sharp cry of pain, her hands going to her head again. "M-m-make i-i-it stop-p-p." She stuttered, her breathing speeding up. "Make it stop F-F-Fred m-m-make it s-s-top…"

Fred looked up at George, tears running down his face too, and then he bit his lip ever so slightly as George wordlessly shook his head. Then he looked back at Selene, and buried his face in her hair.

This seemed to make Selene relax a little, but she was still trembling and letting out cries of pain every few moments, and repeating 'No no no no no'. And then she coughed sharply, and her eyes flickered shut for a split second.

George turned around, ready to call St. Mungo's, but then a silvery Patronus in the shape of a Weasel flew through the newly-repaired window and landed in front of the three of them, illuminating the room in a silver glow.

"Dad?" It was Fred that spoke, but then he returned to Selene as she began to sob again.

"I'm sorry." Arthur Weasley's voice was cracked, and parched, and it sounded like he'd been wading through smoke and ashes. "We were too late… We couldn't do anything… The Death Eaters, Grimmauld Place… Sirius didn't get out in time… Don't tell Selene-"

None of them heard Arthur Weasley's next words, as Selene screamed again, but audibly, a name.

And then she collapsed in Fred's arms.


	66. Chapter 65: Out At Sea

**Hello again! YAY! Quick update!**

**I'm sorry in advance… You will most likely hate me for the angsty drama in this chapter.**

**Maybe I can make it better with cheesecake and/or saying 'everything will be okay because I, chocolatecheesecakes, decree it so'? No? Oh. Okay… I promise, any verbal abuse you wish to give me can be sent through a PM, and I will respond to all of them.**

**Hmm. 11 REVIEWS THOUGH! Thank you all so much! The souless ones, dumblesbashing, Dalonega Noquisi, UltimateFangurl1, MamaNanaJane63, bellatrixD, shopgirllaura, HayleyGoth, HT118, Katsumi-phoenix and Blacklab369.**

**Can I get to 400 before Chapter 70? Little goal. Not a huge one. I just like the number 400. So review, and remember my PM is open for verbal abuse. XD**

**Eleanor**

* * *

"I wandered empty streets, down past the shop displays. I heard cathedral bells tripping down the alley ways, as I walked on." - For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her by Simon And Garfunkel

* * *

Chapter 65: Out At Sea

France was especially lovely in late July.

The Muggle world itself was a bustling tourist attraction – the sights and the historical backdrops, and the beaches of the south, coupled with French as the 'language of love'. But the Wizarding World was even more busy, as Paris was a well-known centre for many of the largest overseas businesses, and many Pureblood families were known to hold copious amounts on the stock market.

But most of all, you could blend in amongst everyone in France, especially if you could imitate the local accent and keep yourself to yourself.

The south of France was where Beauxbatons was, just three miles off the coast, near Marseille. Hidden in the green hills, it took a little while to find - as long as you knew what you were looking for.

The Delacour family, a well-respected and well-liked French family, lived around ten miles shy of Cannes. Cannes, as well being an old fishing port and now a bustling city, was the home of the French Ministry of Magic, after the French Revolution forced Paris to be evacuated.

Roberte Delacour worked as the French equivalent of a Wizengamot chief (the French term being _avocat sorciers_), whereas Apolline Delacour was most resolutely a stay-at-home mother.

"_Alles, alles!_" Came the cry of a twinkling, enchanting voice, and then a girl with blonde hair ran out onto the balcony. She couldn't have been more than ten years old, not at schooling age quite yet, and she was towing two girls to see the outside.

The first girl – young woman – was tall, and willowy, with silvery blonde hair almost exactly like the younger girl. She looked completely at peace with the world, and was smiling an enchanting smile that never wavered from her face.

The second was completely different in looks from the other two, still tall, but with slightly wavy brown hair and lacking the Veela beauty that the other girls possessed. She looked quieter, and she was barely smiling. Although she might not be family, she talked to the youngest girl like an older sister, and fluently in French as well.

"_C'est magnifique._" The brown haired girl smiled, hugging the youngest girl around the waist. "_Merci de me le montrer_."

For the sky was exploded in a million different shades, pink and purple and light blue, the colours of the sea and the moon all merged together on the horizon. The other older girl repeated a similar sentiment, waiting until the youngest girl had disappeared around the corner to recommence.

"I am so sorry." She said, in throaty French inclined English, pretty but fragmented. "Selene, you are welcome to stay 'ere as long as you like."

Selene sighed, and looked up to the sky again, tears sparkling on her cheeks. She spoke in English too, but in a clear, crisp voice, from years of voice coaching and a traditional Pureblood British upbringing. "It's okay." She said, her voice cracking from its natural slightly high pitch at the end. It seemed clear that, whatever was the matter, it wasn't ever going to be 'okay'.

Fleur seemed to notice Selene's lilt too, and sighed herself. "Come on." She said, in determinedly high spirits. "Mina is cooking, and _petit dejeuner _will soon be ready!"

'Mina' was the affectionate name for the Delacour's cook, nanny and housekeeper Dominique. She had been with the Delacour's since Fleur's birth, back when she was fifty, and although reaching seventy-odd, was as strong as a horse and determined to serve the Delacour's until the day she died.

She had a soft spot for Selene, the first of Fleur's school friends that she had brought down to the kitchen to meet 'old Mina', and was always ready with a new cake or pastry or tart every time she came to the Delacour's, for however short a time.

"_Ah, Selene, ma Cherie!" _Mina said, when Selene and Fleur walked into the expansive dining room. "_Comment tu ma lune?_"

Selene managed a laugh at the old woman's kindness as they kissed each other twice on both cheeks (the French custom), and nodded. "_Je suis très bien merci Mina_." She responded in kind.

Mina smiled, wiping her floury hands on her apron and looking both of them up and down. "_Bon appetit!" _She said, giving Fleur the same greeting before walking out, murmuring something about _pain au chocolat _and _baguettes_.

"Shall we eat lunch on ze balcony?" Fleur queried, picking up two blue plates from the table and not even looking to Selene for a reply. They knew each other so well now, that the questions were almost stupid.

The sunrise had faded to a pale pastel blue colour when the two girls walked outside again. Selene leaned against the railing, looking out to the deep blue sea, just in the distance, and watching the sunlight make the sea glitter like one of her mother's old diamond rings.

Fleur watched Selene stare for a moment too long, and then purposefully dropped a spoon on the decking, shocking Selene into turning around, and going to pick it up.

It wasn't healthy, Fleur knew that. Selene had arrived at the house in a storm of tears and angst, and Fleur knew better than to pry too hard. All she knew was that Sirius Black had died, a free man a fraction too late, and Selene was mourning for him like she might do a father.

But Fleur didn't know why Selene was not with Fred, and why she had looked so angry, so upset, and so broken when she arrived. But she wasn't going to pry. Because Selene needed distraction, and preparing for Fleur's upcoming wedding (Bill had asked for her hand the week previously) was the perfect outlet.

Selene had seemed a little… Lifeless, Fleur might put it as, now. She was certainly not sleeping well, and however she hid it in front of Monsieur and Madame Delacour andGabrielle, she couldn't hide it in front of her oldest friend. She charmed away the dark circles, and put silencing charms on the door to hide her sobbing, but Fleur was wise to all of those tricks.

So, when Selene barely ate anything, Fleur gave up on subtlety and almost unleashed her feared Veela temper. She put her fork down with an air of forced calm, and looked her best friend right in the eye.

"Selene, I cannot 'elp you if you remain to be so… So _fermé jusqu'à!_" She almost spat, grabbing Selene's plate away from her. Then, as English would not help her; she lapsed entirely into her native tongue. "_Why are you here? More importantly, why isn't Fred here too?"_

Selene seemed to stumble for a moment, and she looked at Fleur with wide eyes. Then she looked back down at the table, and her hands that were spread out on the top of it, and didn't speak. "I…" She began, in a small voice. "Fleur, I…"

Then she stood up, and turned to face the balcony railings and the sea again. Fleur stood up as well, loosening her grip on the plate before she did however.

"I'm not even sure what happened." Selene said quietly, as she leaned against the railings, still looking out at the sea and sky. "I collapsed, he said. Then I wanted to go and… To go and help them, with George especially, to find… S-S… And he wouldn't let me go, he was worried, and then we yelled at each other… A-a-and I…"

Selene raised one hand to wipe her eyes, and shook her head quickly. Fleur moved forward to the railing too, and looked to the left, so she could see her best friend's face.

"I had to leave." Selene admitted, in a louder voice, like she was making herself say the words without breaking down. "The way they… Got to… They might… I had to leave…"

"_C'est OK." _Fleur murmured, managing a rueful little smile. "_You can help me with my wedding, non?"_

Selene nodded, and smiled too, and then walked back to the table. She managed to pretend that everything didn't taste like cardboard.

* * *

_Dear Fred,_

_I'm sorry_

_Why did we have to fight? I still love you and you know that even though_

_Please understand why I left Freddie, because I couldn't contemplate leaving us all in danger because S-_

_Why is it so hard to write to you even though _

_I know you probably hate me now and I know I was stupid and selfish and mean but please don't _

_ I miss you. And I know what I did, and I wish I could put it to rights again._

_ But I can't come home yet – maybe not at all. Please understand. It's either this or giving myself up. _

_I love you_

_Please Fred_

_ The truth was I never deserved you. You were too kind, too funny, and too handsome, too much like yourself. And for a time, that didn't matter. But it does now._

_Why does our worst fight have to be our last?_

_ I __love __miss you, but please don't wait for me._

_ S_

* * *

Back in England, however, it was raining.

London was soaking up most of the downpour, dripping from roofs into gutters and gutters onto the streets. The shoppers in Diagon Alley ran from store to store, ducking under umbrellas. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was one of the few shops not open, however.

It was a Wednesday, which the twins had claimed as a day off. Now nearing seven o'clock, there was a steady stream of people apparating to the door that led from the service alley at the rear of the shop, to the back door. Verity had left, along with the straggling customers, a full hour ago, but now the basement was ablaze with people.

George had cleared all the prototypes of the items they sold away, and replaced them with a table. Now nearly all the chairs were occupied, Professor McGonagall near the top along with Mad-Eye Moody and Kingsley, and then a slightly worse-for-wear Remus Lupin below them with Hestia on his other side, Bill hovering opposite, next to the twins. All the way down to Mundungus, right at the foot of the table.

The tone, which had been happy in previous meetings, was colder, more somber. Remus looked like he'd been shocked into life, Minerva McGonagall's mouth was a hard, thin line, and Fred and George looked, simply put, like hell.

Dumbledore spoke in commanding but quiet tones, as he began the meeting. "Sirius Black was cruelly taken from us last week." He said, simply, and a black cloud fell over the group. "Death Eaters managed to get hold of his location, although the Fidelius Charm was not broken."

"How does that work?" Bill asked, his eyes dark but expression quizzical. "Surely they must have worked out Sirius's location from one of us?"

"No." Dumbledore said, with a heavy sigh. "Voldemort took advantage of a spell given to him by the Malfoy family. One that was invented by Selene Malfoy."

Fred's knuckles were turning white as he gripped the table corner, and he was not looking at anyone. Remus swallowed, and looked down at his scarred hands, and Tonks looked angry rather than anything else. Dumbledore looked down at the rest of the Order grimly, before continuing.

"Fred, do you have any idea where Selene is?" He asked, using their first names, which seemed oddly foreign to everyone. But, then again, they were both out of school now.

"Don't know." Fred said quickly, still not looking up. His mother bit her lip, turning to look at Mr Weasley almost beseechingly.

"We don't know." George corrected for his twin, before the silence hung too thick. "She collapsed, she was screaming Sirius's name… We think Voldemort broke the barriers in her mind."

Everyone looked to Snape, who stared coldly back. "Miss Malfoy's Occlumency powers were astounding." He said, reluctantly. "Only someone with immense power over her could break down the barriers she held in place."

This time Tonks spoke, however reluctantly. "Our Aunt and Uncle." She said, with a shiver. "Wouldn't they have power over her?"

"That is what I fear." Dumbledore said sharply. "Nymphadora, could you manage to locate her? She is in immense danger, wherever she has run to."

Fred looked up for a split second, and locked eyes with his old Headmaster. Then he gave a funny little jerk of the head, and looked down once again.

"And Harry." Remus spoke, in a cracked voice. "What do we tell him?"

"The truth." Dumbledore said calmly. "He will remain at his aunt and uncle's until the beginning of August, and then we will transfer him to The Burrow."

Mrs Weasley spoke up for the first time. "I'd be delighted." She said, a little thickly.

The meeting passed swiftly, and then Dumbledore adjourned them all. Tonks made an excuse to walk over to Fred, who was leaning against the wall, looking like thunder.

"'Lo Tonks." He greeted, giving her nod but nothing else.

Tonks had her own problems to contend with, but seeing Fred Weasley so desolate was a truly scarring experience. She moved closer to him, and looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "What happened?" She asked bluntly.

Fred looked taken aback for a moment, before he realised what she was asking, and shook his head. "Doesn't matter." He said simply, going back to staring at his shoes. "It's over now."

"Everything?"

Fred gave Tonks such a look that she almost cowered. Then he brought out something from his pocket, and held it out in the palm of his hand. "We've argued before." He began, with a sigh. "But nothing like that. She was hysterical, wanting to go and help Sirius, to save him…" He sighed again, and shook his head again, retracting his hand and holding the ring so hard that his knuckles turned white. "When I told her he was dead, she started yelling at me. Something about never giving up hope, all that crap. Shouldn't have retaliated, probably."

He thumped his head against the wall. "Then she looked like I'd slapped her." Fred said, with a dry, humourless chuckle. "And she threw the ring at me, picked up her coat and disapparated."

Tonks blinked. "You're over then?" She asked, her heart succumbing to yet another blow. "You and Selene?"

"Yup." Fred said, in a monotone. "Forever."

"You're giving up on her, because of what sounds like a five minute argument after an experience you probably should have helped her through?"

Fred gritted his teeth, and nodded.

* * *

_Dear Selene,_

_I'm a bloody git_

_ Hey._

_Are we officially over? I still love_

_ I don't know what to write. I won't even send this letter. But yeah. I need to tell you something._

_I talked to Tonks and I want to marry you the next time I see you because I can't live without you_

_ I'm sorry._

_Yep that's it all this crossing out is for nothing now please come back because we're all so so worried_

_Can you forgive me?_

_ That's it._

_ F_

* * *

Selene woke, like she always did. With a cold sweat, tears and a lingering sense of dread hidden just under her skin. She didn't understand – which was a first. Why, when she had left for that reason, why was she still dreaming about Fred? He was safe now.

Well…

That hadn't been the terms that her godparents seemed so intent on keeping. And, as Selene held an aching hand to her head, she felt as if something else was lurking in the back of her mind. Something dark, something she badly needed to see but was being kept from her.

It wasn't a new feeling.

There was a soft cawing noise from the window, and Selene blinked, wiping the tears off her face before squinting through the moonlight to see what was there.

"Hedwig?" She asked, walking over silently to the snowy owl, more tears sparking at her eyes. "Oh… No… Harry…"

Hedwig cawed sadly, extending one of her legs to Selene so she could take the letter. Then she fluttered off, back outside, where she perched on the windowsill. It was almost if she was giving Selene her space.

_Dear Selene,_

_ My holiday has been okay so far. _

_ Please tell me it isn't true. I've had letters from Ron and Hermione, and a covering one from Dumbledore and Mrs Weasley… Please, Selene._

_ They told me what happened; surely Sirius could have got out alive? You're still with Fred and George – aren't you? You must know the full story? Sirius got out, didn't he? They only said that Grimmauld Place was attacked, without the Fidelius Charm breaking. No other details, please tell me something._

_ Sirius wrote to me, only a week ago. He said that he was seeing you later on that day, is he still okay? Of course he is, Sirius is always okay. I'll be coming home in a week, remember to make sure you actually have food, when I come over to say hello._

_ …_

_ …_

_ Please, Selene. Just tell me, is he okay? No one will tell me a thing; it's too much like last year. Is Sirius okay? I'm going to be sixteen in two weeks, I'm strong enough to know if he's… Not okay._

_ And what Ron said to me, suggested that you might not be okay yourself. Promise me you'll be okay Selene. Promise me. If… I've lost… No, I haven't, but please don't break down. You know what our Occlumency lessons were like, you were astounding! You had a real talent Selene, you'll be fine._

_ Please write to me. Please tell me the truth. If nothing else, I need to know. _

_ Love,_

_ Harry_

The parchment was slightly crumpled, and Selene ran a finger over indents where passages had been crossed out, words that said Godric knows what, and sentences that would – might – have told the truth of how Harry was feeling.

She looked to the letter, lying on the writing desk, and choked on her next breath. Everything was a never-ending circle of lies.

She had lied about being fine, and then she had lied about not being scared about the future, and what that would bring. And then she had lied to Fred, said she hadn't loved him, and then lied to Fleur's parents and Gabrielle, and now she was on the verge of lying to Harry, as well.

Apparently lying was all you could do in a situation such as this.

Except.

If.

Selene brushed more tears away, them landing on the parchment in front of her. Then she sat down, picked up her abandoned quill and just…

Wrote.

_Harry,_

_ I'm sorry. I can't not tell you the truth after I've lied to so many people. I'm in hiding, if you could call this that, and please don't worry about me._

_ What I'm doing is best for all of us. Sirius… What Dumbledore tells you is true. It was my fault Harry, completely mine, and I left because of it. Don't look to anyone but me for the blame. _

_ I led the Death Eaters to Grimmauld Place. They used a spell I myself had created against me, and then I broke down._

_ I fought with Fred, a fight that has, ultimately, resulted in it being easier for me to leave him and so many others behind. Including you. If all goes to plan, you will never have to worry about Voldemort again. That is all I can do now. It's too dangerous for me to be in England anymore, and the closer I am to you, and Fred, and George, and Hermione and Ron and Dora, Aunty Andy, Uncle Ted, everyone… The more danger you are all in._

_ Please don't worry about me Harry. I love you, and Sirius __does does does does __did too. _

_ You have always been like a brother to me. If you see me again, then it means that, somehow, my mind had been changed, or that the time has come for me to hand myself in. _

_ Everything I do now is in Sirius's name. In the name of a man that was my father. _

_ I love you Harry. _

_ Selene _

As Hedwig flew off, Selene slid back beneath the cold covers again; feeling like a piece of herself had flown off with that owl.

And she just laid there, tears streaming down her pale face, and her hand going to the necklace around her neck. Then she picked up her wand, and let her mind think the incantation.

The compass burned bright as the hand swiveled around to where Fred was, across the countries and sea. Selene curled up to herself, and pretended that someone was behind her, rubbing her back and murmuring in her ear.

She shivered, and looked over her shoulder.

No one was there.

But it had felt like, just for a split second, that she could actually hear Fred's voice, telling her something, maybe a joke or a pun, and she could feel his hands on her skin.

_No longer_. Selene told herself. _It's just me now. Fred…_

But he would never be 'in the past', would he?

Because, as hard as it was to admit it, she loved him with all of her heart, and it felt so empty, not having him there behind her, maybe in the corner of her eyes, and his laughter rang in her ears.

Across the countries and the sea, Fred Weasley was sat in the kitchen of his flat, a glass of Firewhiskey in front of him, half-drained.

And he thumped the table, and closed his eyes, imagining a beautiful young woman with brown hair and blue eyes smiling at him, shaking her head maybe and reading one of the books, abandoned in her room.

But now she was just a ghost. A ghost of what he needed so desperately.

"Weasley's don't give up." He remembered Charlie saying once. "Never. We're stubborn as mules, for one thing. And then some. Never let anyone drag you down. Especially when it's something that will make your life crap."

Fred looked down at the ring in his hand, and raised an eyebrow. "For once, Charlie, you have some pretty clear advice." He said aloud, to the empty room.

He damn sure wasn't going to let this get on top of him. For one thing, pity looks were one hell of an ego-dampening affair. And Selene…

Loving someone like her was never going to be easy.

And this was just another step of the way.


	67. Chapter 66: Charmed Is The One

**HAPPY ADVENT!  
**

**Hee hee, yes, I am very hyperactive. 400 REVIEWS! Wooh! Thank you to The souless ones, bellatrixD, The Lonely Assasin, HT118, Blacklab369, MamaNanaJane63, dumblesbashing, Maiannaise, Gurl5678, and sarahmichellegellarfan1 (26 reviews! Thank you!).**

**Batrice Chahine! Sorry, I haven't got your email in any of your reviews (hope you don't think I've been ignoring you), you have to put spaces in it. I know. is annoying. And this is what has been planned! And I hope you like it. It's fluffier, and generally nicer. **

**Guest (Alex): Nodded and noted. XD Yes I think I must have a death wish. My brain acts that way… And I'm slightly insane. Hope you enjoy this one!**

**Well… For everyone that was annoyed, here is a touch of happiness to cheer you up. Credit for the scene at the end goes to bellatrixD. **

**And, as always, review! Spread some Christmas cheer XD**

…**Although it's not Christmas yet… And I have read most of the books referenced in this chapter! Promise! And this is also the midpoint of the story. Part three starts next chapter!**

**Eh.**

**Eleanor xxx**

* * *

"'Cos we've got our vehicles and animals so we're gonna be alright. There's no need for us to go back in time, because we've found our open eyes." Vehicles And Animals by Athlete [Seriously recommend this song]

* * *

Chapter 66: Charmed Is The One

"_Vous voudriez jeune ou bleu?" _

_ "Bleu, s'il vous plait." _Fleur replied, turning to Selene with a grin. "_Bleu, non, ma copaine?"_

_ "Bleu." _Selene agreed, watching the shop assistant walk through to the back storerooms. Fleur seemed rather pleased with herself, especially as Gabrielle was to be wearing a gold colour, and Bill had also convinced Ginny into being a bridesmaid as well.

How Bill had done that, Selene had no clue. But Ginny had agreed, and Fleur had her two bridesmaids. However, she had coerced Selene into being Maid of Honour, and Selene didn't have the guts to tell her friend that she might not be there for her wedding. Well, she couldn't go. That was clear, end of discussion.

It was hard to stay angry with anyone in this weather. Fleur knew this, and was still planning every part of her best friend's life behind her back. Bill had let her know of the… developments over in England, and it, for once, seemed like everything was falling neatly into place.

It was oddly enjoyable. She felt like some kind of manipulative puppeteer. But, it was all for the good of Selene. And if she had to drag Selene forcefully over the English Channel, then so be it.

_"You know that Bill's coming over here tomorrow?" _Fleur asked, looking up from the bridesmaid's dress that she was examining coyly, and smirking as Selene's eyes widened.

"What?" She asked, her voice low, quiet but with a slight dangerous quiver. "Fleur, what did you say?"

"Only that _ma cher Bill _will be coming over to France tomorrow, in order to meet my family and to go over some of the plans for the wedding." Fleur repeated, in English, before looking back down at the bridesmaid dress and nodding approvingly.

_Oh, no._

_ Bill's bound to know about what happened between Fred and me by now, and if he's not angry then he'll tell the Weasleys were I am…_

Selene grabbed her coat, which was lying, abandoned due to the warm climate, on a chair in the corner of the wedding shop, and picked up the small pile of books that she had taken along to prolong boredom, before walking out of the front door with her eyes fixed on her shoes.

_It's not even Fleur's fault._

_ Why am I doing this again? You know he said, so many times, that he would be around for you as long as he lived, perhaps longer._

_ So many times. _

Selene shook the thoughts out of her mind, as she checked her watch and sat down at a table, in front of a pretty open-door French café. The fresh air made her head feel less like something heavy was weighing down on her mind.

Less, as the feeling hadn't completely evaporated.

And she knew why she was doing this. Sirius… Selene swallowed, and looked over at the shop windows on the other side of the street to calm herself. Sirius, she knew, would only just be the very beginning. What Rodolphus had told her was all too true, it seemed now – they would pick off, one by one, her family, until she was the only one left.

And she couldn't face being alone. She'd been alone for too much of her life, and now she had found true, proper friends, Selene didn't want to put them in danger's path for her own sake. As long as they were alive and well, she would be okay.

Not that her mind would ever let her believe that though.

* * *

"Oh, hi Bill." George greeted, as he looked lazily up from where he was scanning a letter, presumably from Angelina in her training camp. "We have absolutely nothing in, so if you're looking for lunch then you'll have to scrounge off someone else."

Bill chuckled, shaking his head and waiting for his younger brother to put the letter away before he continued. "I actually wanted to talk to you and Fred." He admitted.

Immediately, George stood up a little straighter. "Have you heard anything about Selene?" He asked, his eyes light.

Bill shook his head again, and gestured to the door that led to the old, rickety staircase, which led to the flat. "Not here." He said, flicking his eyes over to where there was a steady queue of people waiting for the end of the twin's lunch break. "Just in case."

The flat was in even more of a state than Bill had originally believed it would be. There were pillows and cushions strewn all over the living room, old plates with half-dried food piled haphazardly on the coffee table, and, most bizarrely, books covering every clear space available.

George picked up one of the nearest ones – an old edition of a Muggle classic that Bill liked, _The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde _– and chucked it aside without as much of a glance. "Sorry." He said, not sounding sorry at all. "Fred's going through a bit of a fixation."

"I am NOT going through a fixation!" Fred yelled, from the adjoining room. "Don't stand on _any of the books, _they're not even mine!"

At his older brother's curious look, George shrugged. "Selene's." He said quickly.

Bill nodded, picking up another of the books, frowning when he noticed the title again. "Where did Selene get _Wuthering Heights _from?"

"I think Cho gave them all to her." George wrinkled his nose as he saw the book Bill was holding. "Fred made me read through that one, not only is it depressing, it also had probably put me off all other Muggle books for life."

"Fred's reading them? Since when did Fred read? I didn't think he could _even _read." Bill blinked, dropping _Wuthering Heights _with a muted thud.

As if by magic (which it might have been, all things considered), the topic of Bill and George's strange conversation walked in, his hair sticking up all over the place and a pile of books in his hands, but looking otherwise normal. "Yes, I can read." He said simply, before picking up one of the abandoned books (_Hairy Snout, Human Heart_) and beginning to read. "Hi Bill, we have nothing to eat so-"

"I know where Selene is." Bill cut in, realising that this would be the only phrase that would make Fred listen to him.

The change was astounding. George, who already knew, smiled broadly and ripped the book off Fred, throwing it aside as well.

Fred stared up at Bill, his brown eyes wider than their Auntie Muriel's best saucers. He slipped a hand into his pocket, and shook his head quickly, as if trying to dispel something from his mind. "Um…" He began, with a slight stutter than completely took Bill aback. "You do?"

"Yeah." Bill couldn't help but smile, after seeing his brother in such a state after the last Order meeting. "You've been trying to find her, huh?"

"I thought she'd probably leave a clue in one of her books." Fred gestured to the piles and piles of books around them all. "She had so many though, it's basically taken up all my free time not taken up by the shop, and then I pulled a few all-nighters… It's no problem, really."

Bill just about beamed, despite his confusion. "What brought about the sudden change of heart?" He queried. "You wanted no more to do with her, the last time I checked.

"Something Charlie said once." Fred shrugged, before eagerly looking back up at Bill. "Where is she then? You remember what Dumbledore said; she's in a load of trouble, wherever she is. And… I have a few things I'd like to ask her."

"Firstly, calm down." Bill began, placing a hand on Fred's shoulder. "Selene is definitely safe, she's a smart cookie. And to be honest, I'm surprised you haven't figured out where she is yet."

"Spain?" Fred asked, picking up _The Sun Also Rises_. "That was where I was going to check next, but I think Dad had enough of helping us set up the Portkeys."

Bill sighed, slightly to himself, but mostly to the room at large. "You've actually been to these places?" He asked quizzically. "Trans-Country Portkeys?"

"I tried to stop him." George said, throwing his arms up in mock-surrender. "Well, kind of… I've always wanted to go to New Zealand…"

"And you never thought, or heard, of someone hiding in plain sight?"

There was silence. You could hear the thoughts whirling around in each of their minds. George's bemused, and slightly confused; Bill's a mixture of annoyance and sarcastic comments; and Fred's fixated on one thing –

Puzzling out Bill's cryptic clues.

George face-palmed. "FUCK! Of course!" He swore loudly. "That smart-arse… We'd never think to look anywhere so… So simple!"

Then he turned to his twin, and grinned broadly. "FRANCE!"

Fred blinked for a few moments, before face palming too. "When are you going?" He asked Bill quickly.

"Tomorrow." Bill answered, smirking. "Why? I'm taking a Trans-Channel Portkey at six in the morning. Then I'm meeting Fleur in Paris. You could follow a little later, if you like little brother."

Fred seemed to like, and the books were all being re-arranged with a flick of his wand, highlighted and torn out pages mending and erasing their comments. George cleaned the plates, and Bill checked his watch.

"I have ten minutes before I need to get back to work." He said, with another smirk. "And, Frederick Weasley, you can't go to France to win back the love of your life looking like you've just been dragged through a gnome bush backwards."

* * *

_Dearest Fleur,_

_ Es-ce-que tu? Okay, I admit, that was very bad. How are you? _

_ This is just a short letter, as I'll be seeing you, my love, tomorrow, but I just wanted to let you know that Fred has fallen into our well-placed trap. I went over at lunch (dejeurner?) and told him and George. _

_ It seems that they'd both been trying to find Selene for the past week or so, and were under the impression that the key to discovering her hiding place was in one of her many books that she'd left behind._

_ But I can tell you all that tomorrow. It's a funny, and pretty long, story._

_ Fred will be coming to Paris with me at six am tomorrow morning, to meet you at seven. Don't bring Selene; I think Fred is already scheming something up. My little brother might be as crazy as a cartload of Cornish Pixies and as mischievous, but he's unlikely to blow anything up._

_ I think._

_ I hope anyway._

_ Your everlasting love,_

_ William Weasley._

* * *

Waking up in Paris was a little different to waking up at the Delacour's mansion. For one, Mina was still in Cannes, so there was no early-morning clanging of pots and pans.

Not to say that the food wasn't good – in fact Paris's biggest Wizarding Hotel (_La Mansion De Wizard) _was well known for its food. But there was something lacking, especially as Mina would sometimes hover over everyone, laughing with Fleur and Selene, chattering to Gabrielle and making sure no one was low on anything.

Gabrielle chattered to Selene for the entirety of breakfast, about the classes she was going to take at Beauxbatons, about the chickens in her friend's garden, about how Mina was teaching her how to bake pastry.

Fleur had assured Selene that she didn't have to meet Bill with her, and instead Gabrielle could go around the shops with her, as Monsieur and Madame Delacour were going out for the day.

Gabrielle naturally wanted to visit all the monuments of Paris, despite having seen them an amazing amount of times before. The Eiffel Tower, the Arc D'Triomphe, the Magical Well in the middle of the square of _Avenue D'Paris_, which was the French equivalent of Diagon Alley.

"_Merci, ma Cherie." _Madame Delacour said gratefully, giving Selene a graceful kiss on each cheek. "_Gabrielle,_ _se comportment, s'il vous plait."_

_ "Oui Maman!" _Gabrielle answered cheerily, before Selene was given another two kisses by Monsieur Delacour. "_Alles Selene! Alles!"_

Paris was somewhere Selene was familiar with, having visited with her parents as a child, and later with her governess. But it seemed a little smaller, but none the less _magnifique _as an eighteen year-old.

Gabrielle made her giggle, especially at the enthusiasm at which the younger girl rattled around each street. From left to right, stopping to show Selene something every five seconds.

"_Alles!" _She would call, when Selene grew too far behind. "_Alles Selene, s'il vous plait!"_

And Selene would catch up, and comment or remark on the beauty of the flowers, or the landmarks, or just the simple piece of glass that Gabrielle was attempting to show her.

Maybe she could stay here. Madame Maxime could always use another staff member, and Gabrielle was so amazing, so much like a younger sister that she could really envision living like this for good.

* * *

"_C'est magnifique!" _Fred heard someone say, a few paces in front of him. He carefully walked out from where he was pretending to study some flowers, careful not to look too conspicuous.

"_Je sais Selene!_" A younger voice said aloud, and Fred's head jerked up, just in time to see that familiar swish of brown hair disappear around a corner, and to hear that little laugh. "_Alles! Alles!"_

"Well, that was easy." He said to himself, before following them. "She really is pretty easy to spot."

"_Qu'est-ce à ce sujet?" _Fred heard Selene say, again. He had no idea what that meant, of course, but he got an idea when he saw Selene pointing to the skyline.

After not seeing her for so long, he had really missed her. She was biting her lip as well.

Fred was half-tempted to grab her at that moment, but Gabrielle was evidently very excited about everything, and he was somewhat intrigued by the easy way that she laughed and chattered with the younger girl.

Was that just a girl thing? He could ask Ginny…

Gabrielle had seen one of her friends, and had run off to say 'hello' (which would mean a fifteen minute conversation, at least), leaving Selene carrying all the bags of the little trinkets that she had insisted on getting. The dresses, the necklaces (one of which had been strung around Selene's neck and pronounced _charmant_), the skirts, dress shirts, robes…

Selene produced one of the few books she had brought over to France with her – _The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – _and opened it to her bookmarked page. The Red-Headed League.

She snapped it shut straight away. Red-heads were the last thing she wanted to think about right now. So she skipped a few pages, and settled down in one of the benches on the side of the street,

Selene didn't notice a strange figure in the other shop across the street, dressed in the most ridiculous colour of shirt available – bright, luminous orange. He walked across the street slowly, taking his even more ridiculous Muggle sunglasses off, and then checking quickly that no one was watching, before walking up to her and replacing his sunglasses, balancing a Stetson (being the only hat he could find) on top of his bright red hair.

_"Bonjour." _He said, in a stupid French accent that sounded more Irish, come to think of it. Selene looked up in surprise, and only got the faintest glimpse of a freckled face and a wide smirk before there was a loud crack, and the bags dropped onto the pavement.

* * *

Selene stumbled, falling forwards into a pair of all-too-familiar arms before she could hit the now suspiciously soft ground. She opened her mouth to say the name of her kidnapper, but barely anything else, as she was still whirling with her thoughts.

Then he kissed her.

She would have liked to say that she was strong enough to let go again, but she grabbed onto his shoulders and held him in place for a fraction of a second, before Selene remembered exactly what was going on and pushed him away.

"I…" She stuttered, almost falling backwards this time. "_What are you doing here?"_

"I'm here to find you love." Fred grinned; the French accent and the sunglasses perched atop of his head. "What else would I be doing?"

For once, Selene didn't understand. She was standing in… In a field, in France, with the one person she had expected never to see again standing opposite her with an almost blinding grin. "But…" She said again., her breath catching. "Fred, _you can't be here- _Oof!"

"Missed you too love." Fred said quickly, after he had let her breath again. "But I'm afraid we don't have an awful lot of time. Marry me? Like before? Yep, I was a git and I shouldn't have been so stupid, but I know you still love me. Who can resist a Weasley twin?"

Selene wrenched her arm away from him, sincerely regretting it when it began to sting. "I don't understand." She said slowly, walking one, two paces away from him. "Fred, you need to go."

"No I don't." Fred said, with another brilliant grin. "I'm not going back to England until I have you 'Lene. What's a fiancé supposed to do?"

Selene laughed without humour, and tried to hide her feelings off her face, using the poker face that she had perfected all that time ago. "You're not my fiancé any more Fred." She said simply. "We broke it off? And you need to go."

"Fuck, were you always this stubborn?" Fred pulled her back to him with strength that must had come from his years as Beater, and kissed her a third time, this time ignoring her attempts to shrug him off.

It might have taken a minute, or only a second, but then Selene closed her eyes and kissed him back, her arms going around his neck and her body unconsciously moving closer to Fred's. And when he pulled away, he was looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"Look." He said, in a quieter tone, cupping her face in one hand. "I'm sorry. But I spent a week despising you, and then I realised that not loving you would just take me back to the beginning of sixth year. So I found you. And I still love you."

Selene couldn't look away. She was just staring at the true, genuine sadness in Fred's chocolate-brown eyes. And then she swallowed, and shook her head. "…You don't understand."

"GODDAMNIT OF COURSE I DO!" Fred yelled, Selene jumping and blinking. "Yeah, I know! Or, I can guess. In the Ministry you were threatened with the deaths of me, George…. I dunno who else off the top of my head. And when Sirius died you took it all to heart."

He grabbed her arm again, and then slowly slipped his hand into hers. "Everything's going to be alright." Fred said quietly. "No one will get to you, or me, or George. I've never had a moment's doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life."

To anyone else, this might just have been something indescribably cheesy, but Selene looked up at him again, eyes wide. "You read _Atonement?_" She asked, disbelieving.

"It was really boring, I hope you appreciate the sacrifice that had been made for you." Fred smirked. "And I memorised that, by the way love. Appreciate that as well."

Then Selene kissed him.

And it tasted even better. Memories and books, with the underlying tone of slight regret. And she was crying, and it didn't matter, because as she left go again, Fred caught her once more.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed, tears falling down her face and landing on Fred's shoulder. "I… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"Hey, it's okay." Fred murmured into her hair, kissing her temple. "'Tis better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all."

Selene snorted, and Fred chuckled, moving away again, and pulling out her old (could she call it old? Because it still felt so new) engagement ring from his pocket. "Seriously though, will you give it another chance? We never got to watch Star Wars."

Selene took the ring from him as an answer, and nodded. Then she closed her palm around the ring, and pressed her lips to his slowly.

"And this time, let's actually get married within six months." Fred said, with a wry smile. "I think Christmas is free."

Selene laughed again, as she looked down at the ring, which was now back on her hand. "I'd love Christmas." She smiled. "We've given up on eloping?"

"Well, as Mum said that once you were back she was going to sit you down with all her old wedding catalogues, I think that idea's off the table." Fred said, a little morosely. "I want to wear plaid pink though, that would shock Muriel enough to put her off our family for life."

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_ I knew I said that I would most likely never see you again, but I was wrong._

_ If anyone is to thank, it is Fred. He found me, and he made me see how very stupid I could be. That I shouldn't be the gallant martyr. That Sirius had died to help me live._

_ So I'll be home when you come to The Burrow, which shouldn't be long at all. I hope your birthday is as good as can be expected in the circumstances. Fleur sends her love._

_ I love you like a brother Harry. Please don't ever forget that. I might have nearly stayed away for good, but I will always be here for you. _

_ And I have some things I need to show you. Sirius would be so proud of you. _

_ Oh, and Fred would like to ask what you think to being a bridesmaid. I think you'd look pretty nice in pink – what do you think?_

_ Love,_

_ Selene _


	68. Chapter 67:…Make An Orange Sundae

**Thank you to The souless ones, bellatrixD, Katsumi-Phoenix, HT118, Blacklab369, The Lonely Assasin, HayleyGoth, Dalonega Noquisi, Beatrice Chahine (Thanks! I wasn't sure. And sorry, your email didn't come up again…), sarahmichellegellarfan1, Gurl5678, dumblesbashing and UltimateFangurl1!**

**I tried to get this up quickly. So it's a bit shorter. But next chapter you get jobs, a lot of amazing OCs and one person we all want to know more about (her name begins with a vowel… Who can guess? XD).**

**THIS IS ALL IMPORTANT BELOW PLEASE PLEASE READ!**

**This ****might**** be the last chapter before the New Year. I am all over the place when we break up, and then I have so much Christmas stuff to write (if your Christmas oneshot doesn't get posted before the end of 2014, I apologise) and also if you want a story just PM!**

**And my Sherlock story will also now have first priority. Until the New Year. I hope you guys understand. I will PM you snippets, if you're feeling deprived. **

**Oh, and I leave you all with glorious fluff. **

**So. Happy NEW YEAR! And… Yeah. Merry Christmas. Or Happy Hanukkah. **

**Eleanor xxx **

**P.S. PM's always open ;)**

* * *

"I want something else, to get me through this, semi-charmed kinda life." - Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind

* * *

Chapter 67: …Make An Orange Sundae

The Sunday meal that weekend was considerably livelier and looked forward to than it ever had been. Fred had let his parents know of his successful 'mission' to France, and Selene had already got back in contact with Hermione (who was staying with the Weasley family) and even Ron.

Mrs Weasley had dug out all of her old wedding magazines (of which there were a lot) from the back of a cupboard, along with photos of her and Arthur's own nuptials, which weren't many, as the couple had eloped. And she was telling anyone that would listen that she was so pleased that one of her sons had decided to actually get married, despite the difficult circumstances.

"Yes dear." Mr Weasley had learnt to say, every time she began to gush. Then his mind would turn to more interesting things – like motorcycles and aero-whatsits. The mystery of the rubber duck. And Mrs Weasley remained blissfully unaware that Sirius had left him his motorcycle.

"God, Mum." Charlie said, when he walked into the kitchen, ducking a swipe from said mother and eyeing the magazines suspiciously. "What's all this for?"

"Your brother's wedding." Mrs Weasley said primly. "No, not Bill's, Fred's."

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "He got off his arse then?" He said nonchalantly, ducking another sweep and ignoring the shout of 'LANGUAGE CHARLES WEASLEY!'. "When's the date?"

"Christmas." His mother said with a smile, sweeping the carrots off the chopping board and into the cooking pot. "Approximately. Probably on the day… But I don't know if Muriel can come…"

Mr Weasley looked up from _The Daily Prophet _then, and gave Charlie a wink. "Yes dear." He said loudly. "Any news on Sirius's will then?"

"Apparently he left Harry and Selene everything he had." Mrs Weasley said, in not quite as eager a tone. "I'm not sure of the fine details, Albus is taking Selene over when he gets Harry from his Aunt and Uncle's next week to sort it out. And of course, I'm sure Harry would like to talk everything over with her as well."

Mr Weasley nodded, looking back down at his newspaper and turning the page.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the small flat above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in London, Fred was staring at the small television screen, transfixed. Although no Muggle items that required electricity would work in the main alley, the magic that prevented the use seemed to be useless the higher up you went. Selene had also made the small television work with magic (with the help of many, many books and George).

"Not Star Wars again mate." George sighed, when he saw his twin brother and Selene watching the familiar scrolling intro credits. "You've already watched it twice…"

"There's three of them George, this is _Return of the Jedi." _Selene explained, looking up as the scrolling credits cut to black. "It's actually pretty good, are you sure"-

"Yes." George said quickly, shaking his head. "You know Mum's expecting us three in ten minutes?"

Fred shrugged, and waved his hand. "It'll be fine." He insisted, ignoring George's incredulous look. "Do we have to do anything special?"

"It's Mum." George sighed, thumping his head against the wall. "And as Selene hasn't had the intense torture of the traditional family Sunday dinner, we have to 'dress up'."

"Reckon I can pass off purple?" Fred asked, looking not to his twin for conformation, but Selene, who laughed and nodded, kissing him sweetly before resting her head back on his shoulder. George pulled a face, but gave up and walked back out, grabbing yet another letter from Angelina on his way out.

"I think he snogs those letters." Fred said, once his twin was out of earshot once more, pausing the film. "Secretly sneaks them under his pillow and waits till we're asleep before dancing with them."

Selene laughed again, raising an eyebrow. "I think he practices his pick-up lines on them." She joked. "But yeah, I think you need to go and get ready Fred. It'll be nice to see everyone, even if the dinners are as excruciating as George makes them out to be."

"Oh, they'll be even worse now you're back." Fred grinned, rolling his eyes. "Enjoy your seven minutes of freedom love."

* * *

The Burrow seemed a little different since Selene had seen it last, although that was mainly because George had explained about the various painting and decorating that had gone on over the year.

"Fred! George!" Mrs Weasley gushed, when she opened the door and saw the three people gathered just outside. Then she gathered both twins up into a bone-crushing hug, turning both of their faces red.

When she let go, she turned straight to Selene, and Selene gulped. Mrs Weasley didn't look angry, exactly, but she was still slightly off-key. "It's good to see you again dear." She said, after a slightly awkward pause, that lingered a little too long for comfort. "We were all so worried."

And then she hugged Selene.

When she let go of her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, she had a few tears in her eyes, but she wiped them away and smiled weakly. "RON! GINNY! HERMIONE!" She yelled, into the house.

"Excellent, haven't had a proper meal in ages!" George said smugly, rubbing his hands together. "Stew?"

"What _are _you wearing?" Mrs Weasley was asking Fred, looking him up and down, aghast. "Purple?"

"It's all the range Mum." Fred grinned, giving Selene a little wink. "Look, though, I got 'Lene to wear a dress!"

Mrs Weasley smiled, and looked Selene up and down once appreciatively. "You look lovely dear." She said, before turning to shout up the stairs again. "GINNY? RON?"

"We're here Mum." Ginny said grumpily, walking into the living room, smiling when she saw her brothers and grinning when she saw Selene. "Selene! You're back!"

"Selene?" Hermione asked, walking into the living room with Ron, her face lighting up. "SELENE!"

"It's good to see you too Hermione." Selene smiled, giving the younger girl a hug.

"We were all so worried!" Hermione gushed glaring at Selene with as much force as she possessed. "You just disappeared! And then Harry wrote to us, telling us that you weren't coming back-"

"Oh!" Mrs Weasley said suddenly, with the air of just realising something. "Selene, dear, I dug out all of my old wedding catalogues earlier, for you to look through seeing as you and Fred have finally decided on the approximate date."

Ginny's head snapped up. "When?" She asked. "Why didn't anyone tell me? I'm the adored younger sister…"

"Christmas." Selene explained, wisely ignoring the rest of Ginny's statement before turning to Mrs Weasley again. "It's okay Mrs Weasley, I know you have a lot to contend with already-"

"Call me Molly dear, how many more times?" Mrs Weasley insisted. "And it's no problem, I was a little afraid that you and Fred would elope like me and Arthur."

Fred coughed, and George smirked behind his hand. Mrs Weasley looked at the pair strangely, before shrugging to herself and leading Selene through to the kitchen.

"Watch it, Mum's going loopy again." Charlie said, from where he was leaning against the doorframe to the garden, walking up to Selene and patting her a little condescendingly on the head. "Good to see you again Selene. How was France? Did my soon-to-be other sister-in-law drive you insane? Ah, _that's _why you came back!"

"You've been talking to Lily, haven't you?" Selene laughed. "I'm surprised she hasn't jumped on me yet, screaming about how I abandoned her in a world full of mindless zombies."

"Lily is currently at home, after she decided to ram something into the wall of Ted and Andromeda's house." Hermione said, with pursed lips. "I don't know what-"

"A lawnmower." Selene said, a fraction of a second before Mrs Weasley thrust a wedding magazine at her.

* * *

Number 4, Privet Drive was like the textbook definition of a Muggle dwelling. Slated roof, prim garden…

Albus Dumbledore gestured to the front door, giving Selene a nod when she went to knock. "I don't think Harry had alerted his Aunt and Uncle of our visit." He explained, as they waited for someone to answer. "And I wouldn't be expecting a warm welcome."

"I met them on the platform." Selene admitted, as a shadow moved behind the front door. "They weren't receptive then."

The door swung open, and a woman with a long neck that Selene recognised as Petunia Dursley (nee Evans) appeared. Her dark eyes widened when she saw Professor Dumbledore, and then she managed a curt nod in Selene's direction as she recognised her.

"Good evening Petunia." Professor Dumbledore said cheerily. "This is Selene Malfoy, Harry's god-cousin. Do you mind if we come in?"

Petunia obviously did mind, but she stood aside to let Dumbledore and Selene through, speaking in quiet tones to two unseen people in the living room. "BOY!" Came a ferocious shout.

Selene jumped, before turning to Dumbledore with wide eyes of her own. "Harry lives here?" She asked, in a small voice. "Professor-"

"Call me Albus, I am not your Professor any more." Dumbledore insisted, as they walked through to the living room.

The fittings and furnishings were exactly as one might expect from a gander at the exterior. The bookshelves were glazed, dark wood, the books were all in alphabetical order, and there was a larger, better version of the television that Fred, George and Selene had in their flat in one corner of the room.

"You!" Vernon said, when he saw Selene.

"It's nice to see you again too." Selene said calmly and kindly, drawing on her Pureblood manners as best she could. They came in handy. Even Petunia looked suitably subdued.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry said, when he walked in too. Then his eyes flickered to Selene, who smiled weakly. "Selene!"

Selene walked over and hugged him, painfully wincing as she saw how tall he had become, and how thin he was, and how badly his clothes fitted him. They had been around the same height at the beginning of the summer – now Harry was a few inches taller.

They pulled away from each other, Harry looking a little annoyed, and Selene biting her lip. But, in the end, he seemed to land on the words: "It's good to see you, _Sellie._"

A bubble of laughter escaped Selene's lips before she could realise that there were four people waiting for something to happen. Petunia seemed to regard Selene with even more hostility now that she had seen the familiar exchange between her nephew and this almost unknown girl, Vernon looked furious, and a muscly boy on the sofa (who must have been Dudley) was staring at Selene with an expression that lingered between terror and curiosity.

"We need to discuss the terms of Sirius's will." Dumbledore said, and Selene realised that she had missed a little of the conversation with her musings. Then he conjured three chairs in mid air, a plush red one for himself and two armchairs for Selene and Harry.

The Dursleys watched on in horror as he then conjured two bottles of Mulled Mead and six glasses. Selene took the goblet offered to her, but she couldn't relax.

"Sirius left the two of you." He gestured to Harry and Selene. "Everything he owned. Selene, he left you, as the oldest, the title of the heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black and the Black fortune."

Selene blinked. "So I'm heiress to the entire lot, the estates that were abandoned in the First War…?"

Dumbeldore nodded. "As you are in essence a Black, the handing over of the titleship only involved skipping a generation. Now, Harry." He turned to Harry, who looked a little in shock himself. "He left you the rest of the money that was given to him by Alphard Black, Grimmauld Place itself-" Harry and Selene both shuddered. "-And the assets that Grimmauld Place include."

"So, Kreacher, the spot on the Wizengamot…" Selene elaborated, as Harry was looking a little scared. She took a sip of her Mulled Mead.

"The House comes with a seat?" Harry looked thoroughly confused. "How can it do that?"

"In old Ancient Houses, the old family houses came with a seat. They would be addressed as 'Lord or Lady of the House'. However, wouldn't Harry already have a seat, as Lord Potter?"

Dumbledore nodded again. "I thought your knowledge of Magical Politics would come in handy Selene." He said, with a smile. "Yes, that is true. However, he does not come into his majority as heir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter until he turns eighteen."

"If the heir is underage and there are no other candidates, the money and the titles are held in trust until they become eighteen." Selene explained to Harry. "It's complicated, but normally if your parents are alive then you don't come into your majority until you are much older."

Harry nodded. "I think I understand it." He said slowly. "So… You're the heiress to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy?"

"No, I was disowned officially in February last year." Selene explained. "So the title of heir has passed on to my brother."

They were interrupted by a loud bashing and clanging noise. "GET THE RUDDY THINGS OFF OF US!" Vernon roared, batting at the goblet that was now furiously batting him around the head.

"It would have been more polite to drink it, you know." Dumbledore said unconcernedly, vanishing the goblets and mead. Selene cleaned up the Dursley's with a wave of her wand, before turning back to Harry and Dumbledore.

"I think that is all in order." Dumbledore said, after a few more moments. "Now, Harry, I trust you are all packed?"

Harry went red. "I'm sorry." He apologised quickly. "I was-"

"It's okay." Selene cut in quickly. "I can help you."

Harry led her up the stairs, pausing at the door at the very end of the hall and pushing, flicking the light switch. "It's a bit of a mess." He apologised. "I fell asleep halfway through packing."

Selene smiled and shrugged, following Harry into the actual room and biting back a grin at the sheer amount of mess within. It was just like Ron's room, in essence, although you could easily tell that the interior was tidy most of the time.

Ron's room, on the other hand, had caused a storm when Mrs Weasley 'went in to clean'.

"I'm sorry." Harry said again, trying to cram as many books, clothes and assorted junk into his trunk as he could. "If I can just… Get this closed…"

Selene pulled him off the trunk, and waved her wand at it, concentrating intensely as all the debris from the room flew into it, not neatly, but neatly enough for it to all fit in.

"Aunt Andy showed me." Selene explained, when Harry looked impressed. "It's not hard, really, and after tidying up the living room, kitchen and basement I think this room was a breeze."

Harry forced a smile, before sitting on his bed somewhat heavily. "You know…" He said, slowly. "Did Sirius say anything much when you… When you last saw him?"

"I think…" It was hard thinking about Sirius, and as no one had really pressed the subject, Selene had never talked about him, except in passing. "I think he knew that the Death Eaters were coming for him."

"There's no hope that he's alive?" Harry sounded helpful, but then Selene forced herself to tell the truth, and shake her head.

"They were thorough." She said, as if that excused it. "Harry, like I said when I wrote to you, Sirius would be so proud of who you are, and I know he was."

Harry nodded mutely. "Can you tell me?" He said, haltingly. "How… How he died?"

* * *

"Are you okay?" Fred asked Selene, looking up from the paperwork he was sorting through as she walked in. "'Lene?"

She walked over to the chair next to him, pulled it out and sat down, her hair spilling over her face as she rested her head in her hands. Then she sighed, and wiped at her eyes slightly, trying not to make it obvious.

"'Lene?" Fred repeated, quieter. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Selene said, looking up and brushing her hair out of her face. "It's just… Have you ever had to tell someone that the man they thought of as a father is dead, and never coming back, and that _you _were the person that made it possible?"

"It wasn't your fault." Fred said quickly, noticing that she was getting quieter by the moment, and that her hands were trembling. "Selene, you know it wasn't your fault. The Death Eaters only used something of yours. Nothing more."

"I gave it to Father." Selene forced herself to say, looking up at Fred and biting her lip. "I gave it to him. Not… Not willingly… But…"

Fred sat up straighter, pushing the paper away and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and looking at her with concern. "What do you mean?" He asked. "'Lene, by 'not willingly'…"

"I told you how I was placed under the Imperius Curse so I would definitely provide testimony in my Father's defence." Selene said, with a sigh as she rested her head on his shoulder. "He… Used it quite a lot, I think. He didn't need to with Draco, but I remember, after my fourth year, he was talking to me… And then I woke up three days later, with no recollection of what had happened. Mother told me that I'd been ill…"

She was silent then. Fred put his other arm around her, biting his lip when Selene took a shuddering breath. Then she looked up, and slowly moved her arms to around his neck.

"I don't get it." Selene said, after a pause. "All of this. How we happened, why me, of everyone. What started all of this?"

"Well…" Fred thought back, trying to think clearly and ignore the fact that he was bored, and he wanted to give George a shock, and most of all that Selene was less than three centimetres away. "Moody sat you next to George. So… Barty Crouch Jr. Fake Moody."

"I never thought I'd be so thankful that a Death Eater infiltrated Hogwarts." Selene laughed, and Fred smiled as her face lit up. "I have something else I need to tell you."

"Oh, great, here it comes." Fred groaned exaggeratedly. "You're leaving me for Lee."

"Lee?" Selene raised an eyebrow. "No, okay, moving on… Well, Dumbledore- Albus – told me about Sirius's will, and it turns out that I'm the Head of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black now."

"Okay." Fred said, after a long pause. "Can I say something? Sirius did this deliberately. Because when you marry me, technically I'll become the Head of the House. So…"

"Lord Black." Selene laughed again. "Oh, I see why Sirius did this now, rather than pass it on to Harry."

Fred shoved her, maybe a little too hard, as Selene let out a little shriek, and toppled sideways, falling on the floor. "Oh." He said, holding in laughter as he watched her glare and pick herself up. "Um… Sorry, _Lady Black_."

"Shut up." Selene grumbled, brushing dust off herself. "You know we'll have to hyphenate? As the Malfoys are technically on a higher tier than the Weasleys, we'll be Malfoy-Weasley."

Fred pulled a face, and pulled Selene onto his lap when she sat down again. He rested his chin on her shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I don't like it." He said, after a few minutes of thinking. "Selene Weasley."

"It's not up to me!" Selene said, laughing slightly at Fred's tone of voice. She shifted slightly, so she could look at him properly. "It's tradition."

"Sod tradition." Fred said lightly, before he grinned. "Oh, a letter came for you."

He passed her a letter in green ink. Selene went pale, especially when she saw the seal. "Oh." She said faintly.

"Go on, open it." Fred said, rolling his eyes. "I remember you revising in _September _love. You can't have done badly."

_Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test Results_

_ Pass Grades:_

_ O – Outstanding_

_ E – Exceeds Expectations_

_ A – Acceptable_

_ Fail Grades:_

_ D – Dreadful_

_ P – Poor_

_ T – Troll_

_ Selene Narcissa Malfoy has received:_

_ Ancient Runes: O_

_ Arithmancy: E_

_ Charms: O _

_ Defence Against the Dark Arts: O_

_ Potions: E_

_ Transfiguration: O_

_ Notes: I look forward to seeing you in Experimental Charms, Miss Malfoy! – Griselda Marchbanks_

Selene let herself look over all the grades, and then she exhaled heavily. Fred looked over her shoulder again, and let out a low whistle as he read the grades.

"Wow." He said, with a grin. "So, I guess that means you _are _qualified to start training for Experimental Charms next week."

Selene could only nod. And then, almost on a whim (although it had been on her mind all the way through their talk, and then when she was reading the letter), she turned around and kissed him.

"I love you." She said, after a second. "Thank you."

They didn't hear George come in five minutes later, make a noise halfway between disgust and annoyance, and then walk straight back out again.


	69. Chapter 68: Let It Linger

**I'M BACK EARLY! YAY! Thank my dedication to this story, and all you reviewers. I love you all. And I'm getting close to 450 reviews! YAY!**

**I'm slightly upset, because my Music teacher is moving to New Zealand tomorrow… I'll miss him. So this chapter is dedicated to Mr Manning/Joe Manning. We'll all miss you sir. You were bloody awesome. Also, (this sounds soppy, but…) you gave me confidence in myself. And I'm now crying. Oh shit. HE'S NEVER EVEN GOING TO READ THIS!**

…**Anyway. Enough of me being a sentimental idiot. I'll leave that for school today and tomorrow. I have a concert tonight. We're singing 'Friends' for him.**

**Enough enough. Thank you to Optimistic Pessimist that I am, Maiannaise, Super Potterhead and Fangirl (all of them XD), HT118, sarahmichellegellarfan1, alyssadavies25, Katie (thanks XD), Gurl5678, Beatrice Chahine, Katsumi-phoenix, xSiriuslyInsanex and Bubblegirl97.**

**Chapter 68: for Joe Manning, Music Teacher and amazing person extraordinaire.**

* * *

"But I'm in so deep. You know I'm such a fool for you. You got me wrapped around your finger, ah, ha, ha." - Linger by The Cranberries

* * *

Chapter 68: Let It Linger

"Adams, Amanda." The elderly wizard called out, and a middle-aged woman near the back of the room raised a hand. "Bobbins, Mary."

Selene was by far the youngest in the room of potential Experimental Charms employees, and she was sandwiched in between a man that looked to be about forty, and a woman that might have been about twenty. Everyone kept looking at her either with concern (the older ladies) or with confusion.

"Jones, Audrey." The woman standing next to Selene raised her hand, and smiled at the elderly wizard, who returned it quite easily. Selene tried to blend into the shadows behind her, but she still stuck out like a sore thumb.

At least Fred hadn't been successful in getting her to wear those stupidly pink robes.

"Malfoy, Selene." Selene gingerly raised her hand, hearing the glares and seeing the whispers around her. Of course. They all knew of her father, who was imprisoned in Azkaban.

Soon enough, the roll call was over, and the parchment banished. "Experimental Charms." The wizard said showing rows of brown teeth. "We dedicate our lives to discovering magical cures for diseases, solving our World's great mysteries, and protecting our kind. If you are capable of this job-" Selene had an uneasy feeling that everyone was trying not to look at her. "-Then it means that the Wizarding World relies on you. We take only the very best."

When the wizard had adjourned to talk to everyone, the woman on Selene's left turned to her, and smiled, a little transparently. "Hey." She said, in a southern accent. "I'm Audrey. Did you get taught by my Uncle?"

"I'm Selene." Selene smiled, taking Audrey's hand. "Um… Who is… Your Uncle?"

Audrey rolled her eyes. "Oops, sorry." She apologised, with another smile. "Filius Flitwick, you know him? He talks about a 'Selene' sometimes, when I'm over here at Christmas."

"He was my Head of House." Selene said, a little stunned. "You're his niece?"

"Mmmhmm." Audrey said, with another grin. "I call him Uncle Phil. Drives him insane. But anyway, who's the lucky guy?"

When Selene didn't respond instantly, Audrey rolled her eyes again and gestured to Selene's hand. "Engagement ring." She stated, with a smile. "Bit young, aren't you? Well, anyway, I think that's okay as Mom got married at twenty and Dad was nineteen although that was when I was five – who's the lucky guy?"

"Um…" It took a little while for Selene to process all of the information being thrown at her. She had already discussed this with the Order, everyone. She was to keep herself to herself, make friends but not tell them anything.

In other words…

"It's just sentimental." Selene explained, forcing herself to meet Audrey's eyes. "It… It was my parent's. I miss my father."

Audrey nodded, and thankfully didn't pry further. "I guess I'd miss my pop too." She said, a little thoughtfully.

"Ah! Miss Jones!" The old wizard had made it around to Selene and Audrey now. "How are you finding England?"

Audrey pulled a face. "Cold and wet." She said, a tad grumpily. "Thanks for asking Cyril."

The old wizard nodded, and then looked at Selene. "And Miss Malfoy, our youngest candidate." He said, looking her up and down. "Yes, Filius told me about you. How is your mother?"

"As good as can be expected in the circumstances." Selene said, despite the fact that she had not seen her mother for a long time. "Thank you for asking."

Cyril nodded at Selene again, his eyes lingering a little too long on her face before he moved on to the man. "Cyril's an old family friend." Audrey explained, once the wizard was out of earshot. "My mom knew him when he was an examiner. Or something. I dunno really. You lookin' forward to the tests then?"

"I guess they'll be okay." Selene said tentatively, her eyes flickering over to Cyril. "I've done a lot of revision, F- my brother's been helping me."

Luckily Audrey didn't notice Selene's slip-up. She just nodded again.

* * *

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes closed around 1pm for lunch, and that was when Selene slipped through the back door, locking the door behind her. George was sitting in the back room, and he looked up when Selene entered.

"Angelina's back later!" Was the first thing he said. "I've Owled her with everything that's happened."

"Please say…" Selene didn't even have to finish her sentence as Geogre smirked. "Okay. I forgive you."

"Knew you couldn't stay mad at me for long love." George patted Selene a little derisively on the head. "How was the good ol' Ministry?"

Selene rolled her eyes. "I don't think the change in Minister had changed too much." She admitted. "I haven't met Scrimgeour yet, but it's only a matter of time. He'll want to make sure that I'm not a Death Eater."

"I don't think you can tell him." George said, answering her unspoken question. "That you're engaged to Fred, that is. Just in case."

Selene nodded, giving George a hug. "Any news from the Order?"

"No, but Tonks wants to meet you at two." George explained. "She sounded pretty torn up. I don't know what about though."

Selene could guess. And she didn't want to. But she managed a weak smile, and left the back room.

Verity grinned at Selene as she passed, making a small exclamation as she passed her a brightly coloured box of some description. "Another made invention George and Fred have cooked up." She explained. "They don't know if it's safe so they haven't put it on sale."

"I'll take a look." Selene smiled, shifting the box slightly, so it wasn't obscuring her vision. "I'll be down to help clean up in a bit Verity, just give me a few minutes."

"Nah, don't worry." Verity smiled, shaking her head. "Just go on up. How was the Ministry?"

"Okay, thanks." Selene smiled, shifting the box again. "See you later then."

Selene felt someone wrap their arms around her neck, and she smiled, placing down the paperwork she had been given by Cyril so she could turn around and kiss Fred. "Hello." She murmured, leaning in after another second.

Fred reluctantly pulled away, before walking around so he was standing in front of Selene. "So," He said, with a grin. "How was Experimental Charms?"

"It's harder than I thought." Selene sighed, elaborating after a second. "Lying so much. I know I have to be undercover, but…"

Fred nodded, and kissed her forehead gently. "At least you only had to be in for a few hours today." He smiled. "Mum's Owled yet more magazines."

"I've already told her, as long as she doesn't invite the entire Wizarding World then I don't really care." Selene had left Mrs Weasley the planning of the wedding, especially as Fleur wanted to keep hers 'in the hands of the French'. "For once I agree with you – eloping would have been so much easier."

"You agree with me?" Fred clasped a hand over his heart. "My dear, have you finally gone barmy?"

Selene playfully whacked him with the back of her hand, picking up the paperwork and passing it to Fred. "What do you think of this all?" She asked, pointing to a few lines on the top of the first sheet. "It references protecting the world from Voldemort's supporters, but…"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Fred insisted, setting the parchments down on the side. "Actually, there's another Order meeting tonight, but not here, for once."

"Where is it?" Selene looked up quickly, her eyes alight with surprise. "The Order meeting, I mean."

Fred ran a hand through his hair, and tried to search for another topic of conversation. But, not finding one, he sighed, and resigned himself to continuing. "They… They've fixed up Grimmauld Place."

Selene reeled backwards, crashing into the table and tripping backwards, over the chairs. "No." She said quickly, her face creased with lines of worry. "I'm not ready to go anywhere near there… Fred – do they need me to go?"

"I asked, but they're insisting." Fred bit his lip, helping Selene up, and then pulling her to him, resting his chin on her head as she breathed into his shoulder. "It'll be okay. It's not until seven, you have plenty of time."

Selene nodded into his shirt, surprising him by pulling out of the hug and threading her arms around his neck, kissing him with such force that Fred almost fell over himself.

He let it go as far as he dared, but when he could hear how short Selene's breathing was becoming, he pulled away. "Come on." He said quietly. "Not now. Don't you have work to do?"

"No." Selene said, shaking her head. "Its just paperwork, and the Order's jobs for me haven't even technically become applicable."

"I don't want you getting overstressed on me love." Fred kissed her forehead. "Go and get out of this place then. I'm sure your Aunt would enjoy a visit."

"Can't you come?" Even before Selene asked that question, she knew the answer. "Of course. I know that. Lily might kill me if I don't visit soon anyway. I won't stay long, what time will you need help?"

Fred shook his head, biting back a smile as he kissed her gently, this time drawing away before he could get too absorbed. "Don't worry about me love. Go and have fun. Later, I promise."

Selene nodded, grabbing a fistful of his shirt so he couldn't pull away as she pressed her lips to his one last time. "I'll try and come back around closing time." She insisted, placing a finger to Fred's mouth as he tried to protest. "I'm not leaving you here to do it all by yourself."

* * *

"I can't believe you went to France and didn't bloody tell me!" Lily complained, waving at one of her neighbours as she and Selene walked down the main street of her town. "I've been stuck at home-"

"Well, you recreated the whole lawnmower stunt, didn't you?" Selene grinned, shaking her head. "I can tell you about it, if you want."

Lily completely ignored that part of the conversation, and skipped straight to what was interesting her in her mind. "What I don't get." She said, nonchalantly, confusing Selene for a second. "Is how you aren't pregnant yet."

It took Selene a few moments for her to get the general gist, but then she shook her head quickly. "No, definitely not." She said defensively. "I mean… Not that… I would like kids and I know Fred does too, but we're not even… Married and we're both eighteen Lily…"

"I'm seventeen." Lily shrugged, popping a Smartie (a type of Muggle chocolate sweet) into her mouth. "I have a boyfriend. I've shagged him."

"Hey, wait, you're dating someone?" Selene raised an eyebrow.

Lily grinned, offering Selene a Smartie before continuing. "Four months." She explained. "I met him at Easter. His school came up to Worcester for some kind of concert. He was bunking off, I was scaring pigeons."

"Uncle Ted has two girls to gush over then." Selene smiled.

"My parent's don't know." She smirked, eating another Smartie. "He's technically a Muggle, but he knows about magic 'cause his Dad's a Squib. Oh, did you know? His cousin's Angelina."

* * *

"Lily is dating my cousin." Angelina finally managed to say, over a glass of Firewhiskey as she sat in the flat's kitchen, her voice slightly dry after yelling at Fred for an hour (Selene had been spared, as she wasn't to blame, according to Angelina). "Alex, my cousin. Alex, my awesome Muggle cousin. Your cousin, my cousin? Is this the beginning of some bad Muggle TV Show?"

"If it is, then one of us is getting pregnant soon." George smirked, and Selene swore that he winked at her for a split second. "It is all a bit weird, but I doubt Voldy cares enough to mess with our lives."

"He's messed with mine." Selene said reluctantly, resting her head on Fred's shoulder as he squeezed her hand. "But I think this is just coincidence."

She kept quiet about meeting Alex before, as she still remembered his parting request. Angelina nodded, rolling her eyes. "Trust Alex to get involved with the cousin of one of my best friends."

"So!" George cut in, making Selene jump. "The Wedding."

If Selene had anything on hand to throw at George, then she would have thrown it. "No." She said quickly, before the subject could get any further. "Nothing to do with that, please."

"Mum's been chewing us out about that." Fred explained. "Remember when we had to go over back home on Sunday morning? That's when she laid it down. Apparently, no, I am not allowed to wear bright orange, be it my wedding or nay."

"Damn." George smirked. "I think I might have to hide my bright purple robes from Mum then."

"We actually have an entire list of things that we are not allowed to do." Fred explained, searching through his pockets for a few moments, and then pulling out a slightly grubby sheet of parchment. "Look here, I am apparently not allowed to set up wards that will ban Muriel from the entire proceedings."

"She can't be too bad." Selene tried to reason, raising an eyebrow when Fred and George looked at her in confusion.

"Right. Look at it this way. Who is the worst possible relative that you can think of?"

Selene didn't even have to think. "My aunt." She said, simply, and Fred squeezed her hand again. "Um, I mean Bellatrix, not Aunt Andy. My other aunt."

"Muriel isn't as bad as that." George admitted. "She hasn't killed anyone that I know of."

"You never know." Fred said darkly. "She's close to dying herself, on my watch."

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks was, by nature, neither quiet nor subdued. She was loud, extremely clumsy (although the title of 'clumsiest in the family' was now contested by Selene) and always had a smile on her face.

When she had been told that Selene, her cousin that she previously had not hoped to ever meet on level ground, was nothing like the rest of the Black and Malfoy families, she hadn't thought for more than a single second of the consequences that would crack down and instead focused on making Selene feel as welcome as she could.

But now, just over a year later, Dora was quiet and subdued, and her mind kept flickering to Remus John Lupin.

Selene walked into the Leaky Cauldron quietly, smiling sweetly at Tom (who returned the gesture) before walking over to the normally deserted back tables, and then making a beeline for the woman with mousey brown hair.

She hadn't seen Dora at the Ministry, firstly because although the Auror Office and the Committee on Experimental Charms were on the same floor, the two subdivisions were polar opposites.

Also, Dora hadn't been to work in a few days.

"Hey." Selene said, taking the seat opposite her cousin and smiling at her a little unnervingly, compared to the dark cloud that seemed to be hanging over Dora nowadays. "Are you okay?"

Dora shrugged. She looked up just long enough to flash a smile at Selene, but didn't seem to be able to keep her façade up like she was doing in front of most people. "Not at work then?"

"No, I got the day off."

Already, six people had dropped out of the COEC course, which left twelve behind. Selene had to work harder than most, trying to keep her past under wraps and generally making an outline of herself as a hardworking ex-Ravenclaw who still carried Pureblood values although was not a direct supporter of Voldemort. So, in essence, talking to Dora even if she was at the Ministry would jeopardise that all. She had to put a Disillusionment Charm on her ring (she was reluctant to take it off), and made a point to keep herself to herself.

"The Weasleys are coming to the shop in a few hours." Selene explained, checking her watch – it was a little past ten in the morning. "All of them. Even Fleur."

Despite her state, Dora smirked. "Oh, she's going to kill you." She said flippantly. "Getting married before her, you can't technically be a bridesmaid."

"I think she'll be a little too pleased to worry too much." Selene didn't voice her more acute worries – like how would Fleur react to not being the star of attention? "How are you Dora?"

Dora sighed, looking up again. "Remus has gone." She said, simply. "And… Selene, I think I… What does being in love feel like?"

When she didn't respond immediately, Dora waved her hand vaguely and shook her head. "Don't worry. How did Fred tell you that he loved you?"

"Dora." Selene said quietly. "Remus isn't used to being around people. What did you tell him?"

Dora sighed again, looked up into her cousin's eyes, and managed another weak smile. "I told him that I loved him." She said simply, little emotion in her tone. "Then he walked off."

"He's an idiot." Selene was surprised with the fervour in which she said that, but she remembered what she had seen in the Mirror of Erised, and shook those worries away. Because she knew that Remus and Dora were in love, even if Remus and no one else could see it.

She had seen Dora less than a handful of times since she had returned, and although her Metamorphing talents had waned, they had only just completely faded away. Everyone else assumed that it was down to Sirius, but Selene had explained to Fred that, in fact, it was down to Remus Lupin's continued refusal of Dora's advancements.

Fred had shrugged it off, and assumed that it would all be okay when Remus returned, but Selene wasn't so sure. It would take a minor miracle to make Remus see the family and love he had now. And, as much as Selene was going to try and convince him, Remus was going to be a hard nut to crack.

"Hmm." Dora muttered, hardly looking up but cracking a wry smile. "You can say that again."

"So, I was wondering." Selene changed the subject, trying to make it seamless but then wincing at it became painfully noticeable. "Do you want to be a bridesmaid? It'll probably be you, Ginny, Gabrielle, Angelina, Alicia, Katie and Cho."

Dora shook her head. "No, it's okay." She insisted, in a quiet tone. "I take it that Dad's walking you down the aisle?"

"If he can." Selene nodded, resting her head in one of her hands. "Dora, the only reason we're getting married so soon is because…" Her breath caught. "Because we don't know if we'll survive."

The change in Dora's expression was imminent, and her hair went the slightest shade of red. "NO!" She shouted, and the few patrons that were also in the Leaky glanced up. "No Selene." Dora continued, fractionally quieter. "You will survive, you hear me? Why do you think Sirius died? We are all trying to save people we love."

"Would you die to save Remus?" Selene didn't even need to see Dora's nod to know the answer. "Dora, if there was _any _chance that Fred was in danger, I would leave, to save him. That's what I did."

"If you have everything than you have everything to lose." Dora quoted, her voice low again. "Just… Be careful."

Despite herself, Selene managed a laugh.

"Of course."

* * *

Selene could see the Weasleys up ahead, looking into the window of WWW (the shortened version of the name, as Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was quite a mouthful). Ron seemed to be laughing, and Selene's mouth quirked as she saw the large, luminous green posters that advertised 'U-No-Poo'.

Ginny was pulling at Mrs Weasley's arm to get inside, and Hermione was doing her best not to look impressed and/or excited, but failing with a finesse known only to those who read a lot.

But Selene's eyes found Harry. He looked… Better than he had done. There was a slight spring in his step, and the clothes he was wearing fit him. He seemed to have filled out a little as well. Fleur was standing to his left, her hand in Bill's.

She began to walk towards them, her arm raised a fraction above her head to wave hello, but then someone walked right into her.

"Sorry!" Selene said instinctively, even though it hadn't been her fault. Neither of them had fallen (although Selene had come close), so it was only when the boy looked straight at her that her blood froze in her veins, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped straight open.

She tried to run, but she was frozen to the spot. Then the boy looked around, grabbed Selene's arm, and towed her into a side alley with such force that her arm clicked slightly.

She was given enough time to stare at the boy, look him up and down, before he began to speak.

"…Selene?"

Selene could feel herself wanting to hug the boy, kiss him, show some affection towards him when his grey eyes looked at her with hurt and distrust evident from the very core. But she held back, and made herself just watch him, not trusting herself to make any spur-of-the-moment decisions.

She knew that she looked the last thing from a girl that had grown up a Malfoy. She was wearing her Weasley jumper; her hair was tied back in a messy plait, and her eyes were slightly red-rimmed. But the boy looked smart. Painfully smart. Pressed robes, starched collar, slicked-back hair…

"Draco."

"Selene."

"…I-I'm sorry."

Draco was silent. Selene squeezed her eyes tight shut. He was going to yell, to scream, and she could do nothing about it. She had abandoned him, and it made her heart physically hurt and ache.

"I know."


	70. Chapter 69: Nightmare

**Finally! An update!**

**I hope you all had a good Christmas, anyway. I've been all over the place this holiday, and all the one-shots I've posted in the last three or so days were actually written solely on my iPod.**

**But I think the wait was worth it. This will be the last chapter that covers the summer – as the Weasleys visit the shop in this chapter, and I need to get to the juicy action parts, and soon.**

**You get Draco?**

**Thank you to Optimistic Pessimist that I am, HT118, dumblesbashing, Katsumi-phoenix, bellatrixD, Maiannaise, Gurl5678, The Lonely Assasin, HayleyGoth, BritanyJean, sarahmichellegellarfan1 and…**

**Avid! Thank you SO much for your extremely long and detailed review that made me squeal like a… Um, a fangirl XD. I'm sorry; Sirius is definitely dead, as I have told many people many times. If anyone would like me to write a one-shot were Sirius DOES survive, let me know ;). And as for your wonderful compliments, I'm sorry this took so long. And Fred is definitely better looking. I hope you'll review again, anyway!**

**And, as always, if you are reading this then you are one of the best people in the world. **

**Oh! I have an AU Unconditionally one-shot spinoff on my profile! It's called Holding Onto Heaven (like the Foxes song, get it?) and if you haven't read it then you should. **

**Ellie xxx**

* * *

Part Three: Consequently

* * *

"Take it all in on your stride, it is ticking, falling down." - Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz

* * *

Chapter 69: Nightmare

When Draco Malfoy decided that he needed to go to Borgin and Burkes on a Saturday afternoon, the last person he expected to see (although, as she lived nearby, it was almost inevitable) was his sister.

He looked her up and down, and tried to keep himself from wanting to rely on her as much as he had wished to previously. She was blatantly wearing the ring that her Weasley had given her, and looked proud of it.

"I know." He said, after hearing the pain in her voice and pride overcoming his own stubborn feelings. "Selene, I know. You told me."

Selene's expression softened, in a way that made Draco's heart pang, and then he took his hand. For once, although he was compelled to, he didn't pull away. And he let her squeeze his hand, to think that everything was okay. "Did you get my letter?"

His mind flashed back to a week or so again, when he received a letter telling him that she loved him, and was willing to try and build their relationship again. Along with an invite.

_You are invited to the wedding of Frederick Gideon Weasley and Selene Narcissa Malfoy, on the 25__th__ of December 1996._

_"Molly wrote the invites."_ Selene had added quickly, in a postscript. _"I really hope you can come."_

The invite had gone in the fire before his parents could see, and the letter hidden in between two old school books. "Yes." Draco said curtly. "I'm afraid… I can't come."

"I guessed as much." Selene didn't even look upset, and Draco fought the urge to hug her. His sister had such a big heart; she was smart enough to know a lost cause when she saw one in front of her eyes. "Are you okay though?"

Draco's jaw jarred as her eyes flickered to his left forearm. "As good as can be expected." He decided upon, a while later. "Mother is... Missing you."

Then it came, the flash of pain in Selene's eyes. She bit her lip, and nodded, her eyes flickering down, the subject of Voldemort averted for now. "I miss you all." She admitted, although that must not have been the full truth.

Lucius Malfoy was – and had been – too cold, mean and brutal to carry any love with his daughter. Draco was able to see that that was how Lucius loved them, but Selene had broken off from that reasoning. She had Fred now, after all. And she so clearly loved him; to let her entire close family let her go and then walk off like it hardly bothered her.

Although the truth was clear.

It really bothered her.

Draco's left arm twitched jumpily, and Selene's eyes jumped up once more, looking at his forearm before moving to his own eyes. "Have they…" She began, hesitantly, before reaching for Draco's arm. He jerked it away before her fingers could even brush his sleeve, and shook his head quickly.

"It's fine." He insisted. "Everything."

"No." Selene said, in a dark tone. "No, Draco, it isn't. Sirius is dead-" Draco's features arranged into surprise. His sister had known Sirius Black better than he had expected then. Even the Death Eaters hadn't been able to guess her true relationship with the late man. "-Voldemort is attacking us, and I really don't know if I'm going to survive."

"You can!" Draco blurted. "Come home with me, I'm sure Theodore Nott would still consent to marry you-"

Even though Selene was by then shaking her head with fervour, Draco knew that (and had already known, deep down) that the preposition was futile. "Please, stop." She asked, closing her eyes momentarily. "Draco, I am going to marry Fred at Christmas. Please."

Draco nodded, expression stony. "Draco?" Someone called, and Selene's eyes widened, hands flying to her face and her skin getting even paler. "Draco?"

"Mother?" She mouthed, before her eyes flickered shut. Then she started forward, and wrapped her arms around Draco. He didn't complain, but just left his arms hanging by his sides, eyes staring straight ahead, and ignoring the twinges of pain in his left forearm.

"Draco?" Narcissa Malfoy called again, this time a little more urgently, with a pang of fear. "Where are you?"

Selene let go, and Draco knew that _she knew_, but she didn't say a thing. He shook his head at the request in his eyes, and then turned on his heel, stalking back out into the main street with his head held high. He brushed a few phantom tears away with the back of one hand, and pretended that the next time he saw his sister would most likely be after his death.

* * *

Harry looked up from the display of Muggle tricks and games, and saw Draco Malfoy stalk past the window. His brow furrowed - _what was Malfoy doing here? _– But he didn't speak aloud, and his eyes soon moved to the tall girl walking through the door of the shop.

"Hey Harry." Selene smiled, a slight tremble in her voice, but Harry could understand that, as he had been informed that she had just seen Tonks.

"Hey." He greeted, with a hug. "How's Tonks? Fred told me you were just with her."

Selene nodded, the tremble not leaving her, but seeming to steel a little courage. "She's… She's okay." Selene seemed to settle upon, after a moment's worth of thought. "As can be expected, really, with… Everything."

Harry nodded, looking out the front window again, to where he had seen Draco Malfoy walk by. "Sorry." He found himself saying, curiosity getting the better of him. "I need to go and find Ron and Hermione."

"That's okay." Selene gave Harry another hug, before walking back into the main shop.

"Oh, hello Selene dear." Mrs Weasley seemed to know who it was before she even looked up. Ginny grinned, before turning back to the array of _WonderWitch _products on the shelf in front of them. "How are you? Fred and George told me that you were talking to Dora – how is that poor girl?"

The lie came a little easier the second time. "She's okay." Selene shrugged, eyes flickering over to where Harry, Ron and Hermione were now talking quietly to each other. Then her eyes tried to find her brother in the throngs of people outside the shop – or her mother, but she saw no pale-blonde hair.

"I like the Pygmy Puffs." Ginny said suddenly, picking a purple one up. Selene blinked down at the furry fluffball, before quietly moving a couple of steps back.

"That one tried to attack me the other day." Selene said, not taking her eyes off the Pygmy Puff's black beady ones. "He's evil."

"Aw, how can something this cute be evil?" Ginny cooed, stroking the Pygmy Puff with one finger. "Got any good names?"

"Elvendork?" Selene suggested, with a grin, remembering the discussion she had had with Harry, all that time ago.

Ginny's eyes lit up, but Mrs Weasley cut in quickly. "What about something nice and _normal_." She said disapprovingly. "Like… Marvin? Edward? Arnold?"

"Arnold." Ginny decided, stroking the Puff's head again, and grinning down at it. "He can be my guard."

Selene shuddered at the thought of having such a vicious creature around, but she didn't say anything aloud. Then someone blew in her ear, and she jumped close to three feet in the air in utter surprise.

"Happy to see me?" Fred smirked, ruffling his hair up with one hand. "Hey Mum, _Ginevra."_

_ "Frederick." _Ginny gave him an inappropriate finger when their mother wasn't looking. "Meet Arnold."

"Arnold?" Fred grinned wider than he perhaps ever had. "Oh, look, 'Lene, it's your little friend."

"Don't you even dare." Selene sighed, looking around out of habit for Harry, Ron and Hermione, but not seeing them anywhere. The shop wasn't crowded enough that you couldn't see two inches in front of you (she remembered certain times when it had been like that), so there was no mistaking that Harry was gone.

"You seemed a little unsettled last meeting." Mrs Weasley said, looking Selene up and down in concern, her tongue clicking against her teeth.

Selene looked up again, and smiled a little shakily. "It's just where we were." She said, by way of an explanation, relaxing when Fred threaded a few fingers through her hair. "I don't think I want to set foot in there ever again."

"Someone has to clean it up, and I doubt Harry will." Mrs Weasley tutted again, before her face lit up. "How's work?"

"I started last week." Selene began, pulling for appropriate words to describe her situation out of thin air. "It's hard keeping everything under wraps-" She shuddered for a second as Fred traced the old scar on the back of her left hand. "-But I'm coping."

"Hey, have you seen Harry or Ron?" Ginny piped up suddenly, sending Selene a wink when Mrs Weasley was again preoccupied. "They were here a few minutes ago?"

"I told them _not to wonder off!" _Mrs Weasley scowled, patting Selene's hand a little clumsily, before shooting Fred a glare. "Why didn't you keep an eye on them?"

Fred looked outraged. "I had work to do!" He complained. "Ron's almost seventeen, I can leave him alone!"

"Hermione's pretty responsible, they can't have gone too far." Selene said quickly, seeing the close to terrified look on Mrs Weasley's face. "And Diagon Alley's okay at the moment, I've been out much later than this and nothing bad has happened."

Except a Death Eater raid three nights ago, of course.

Mrs Weasley's expression turned from fear to anger in a split second. But instead of turning on Selene, she turned on Fred. "KEEP YOURSELF SAFE, I SAID!" She spat, almost yelling. "NOT WANDER AROUND AT NIGHT!"

"Mum-"

"Don't you MUM ME, YOUNG MAN!" Mrs Weasley yelled, face red. Selene noticed Verity stifling a laugh behind her hand as she served an elderly witch. "YOU MAY BE OF AGE, BUT FOR AS LONG AS I AM ALIVE-"

"What's the matter?" Selene visibly sagged in relief when she saw Mad-Eye Moody stump up, giving Molly and Fred the once over, before his magical eye swooped over to Selene. "Molly, don't make a scene. What's the matter?"

"Harry, Ron and Hermione are missing." Ginny chimed in, as Mrs Weasley was on a tangent and would never get to the actual point. "For about five minutes."

"What do you mean?" Mad-Eye's eye moved to stare out the back of his head. "They're right there."

Selene looked over the shelf, and, plain as daylight, Harry was talking to Ron, Hermione chatting to Angelina next to them. He looked up for a second, and she saw a flash of recognition in his eyes.

_They followed Draco._

She wanted to go over there, to find out what her brother was up to, but Mad-Eye pulled her aside, just as Mrs Weasley began to calm down and take Ginny up to pay for Arnold. "You're doing good lass." He said gruffly, not smiling, but still looking pleased. "Keep your head low, stick behind the scenes."

"Thank you Professor." 'Professor' was a habit that she just couldn't kick. "Is that it?"

Moody shook his head, and looked around before continuing. "The Minister is planning to talk to you next Wednesday." He explained, and Selene's eyes widened. "He suspects, of course. Scrimgeour's better than most, but we don't think he's fully trustable. Just tell him what we agreed, play the girl that wants to pull her family out of the dirt. The girl who would rather die then be seen with Blood Traitors. And remember, _constant vigilance._"

Selene nodded, hearing the hidden warning in Moody's gruff tone. "Will you be able to come to the wedding Professor?"

Moody barked a laugh. "I was never your Professor girl, call me Mad-Eye. And I don't do weddings. But I'll have a look."

"Thank you Profe- Mad-Eye." Selene corrected herself quickly.

Moody gave her a funny little grimace, before stumping back away, beginning to round up the Weasleys so he could get them home and 'safe'.

She could feel Fred's curious gaze on her, but she just gave him the merest shake of the head by way of an explanation. The less he knew – or suspected – the better.

* * *

_Fred… NO… Please, no… Why…_

Selene kept dreaming of it, but in different variations. In one, Bellatrix had been sneering at her, about to yell the Curse, but then Fred pushed her out of the way, and he was hit with the jet of green light.

In another, he was crushed by a wall. Attacked by Voldemort, tortured by her parents… The possibilities flowed easily, and got all the more devastating over time. And every time, Selene woke up sobbing.

"Please tell me." Fred said, finally cracking after an entire week of the same routine – tears, and then sleeplessness. "'Lene, please."

"It's okay." Selene insisted, closing her eyes and trying to construct this memory inside her head – head resting on Fred's shoulder, smells like gunpowder and vanilla, tasting his stupid cologne… "Fred, it's fine. It's just me being stupid."

"You're never stupid." Fred murmured, kissing her collarbone lazily. "Never, love. Beautiful, sure. Not stupid."

"I got Harry a late birthday present." Selene said suddenly, and Fred looked up.

"What did you get him then?"

"Copies of the letters I found in the photo album, along with some of the photos, and an album of his own." Selene admitted, reaching down to retrieve the album from where she had abandoned it the previous night. She picked the very first letter – the one the most yellowed with age, and opened the envelope almost silently.

Then she showed it to Fred, casting _Lumos _as she did.

_Dear Padfoot,_

_ Mum gave me this photo album for Christmas, for us Marauders. She thinks it'll be useful when I marry Evans someday – well, she said 'when I get married', but I'm going to marry Evans, simple logic involved._

_ I've filled the first few pages in, but I think you should add some. You know, of you, you and Reg, stuff like that. I've left the first page blank for now, not sure why but you know._

_ Keep it for a few weeks, and then send it to Moony, who'll send it to Wormtail after. That way we can keep it circulating. _

_ See ya after the holidays!_

_ Prongs_

"You're telling me…" Fred flipped the letter over, and sniffed it. "This photo album belonged to the Marauders?"

Selene giggled, and nodded, taking the letter back. "Sirius slipped all of his letters into here." She explained. "From him to James, James to Remus… Lily's letters, after they got together. Some from Petunia to Lily and vica versa. Then letters from Sirius's various girlfriends… He seemed like quite the womaniser."

"Can you pass me the photo album?" Fred asked, grabbing his wand and banishing the spell from Selene's wand. "There we go. Give me a sec…"

"If you rip it then I will castrate you and not feel bad about it." Selene mock-threatened, half-meaning it but sounding utterly stupid. "Ah. Sorry."

Fred chuckled. "You won't." He said knowledgably, before conjuring some more light with his own wand. "There we go. No rips whatsoever."

"It's a bit wonky." Selene laughed, tracing the outside of the photo with a finger. "But cute. I thought you were morally against cheesiness?"

A photo of Fred, George, Angelina and Selene was now waving at them from the next blank page, opposite a snapshot of Selene and Sirius, taken last summer. They were all standing outside the shop, Fred and George in their ridiculously magenta robes and Angelina and Selene in jeans and t-shirts.

"A few days ago." Fred smirked. "Just after the family left. You remember that Verity was fiddling with that camera? That's what she was up to."

"You should have been a Slytherin." Selene smiled, kissing him softly.

"I like the idea of being your knight from Gryffindor." Fred grinned all the same, and then began to kiss her collarbone again.

* * *

"Miss Malfoy?"

Selene looked up abruptly, feeling a pang of nostalgia when she saw Percy Weasley looking at her. "Is the Minister ready for me?"

"Yes." Percy said curtly. "Just come this way Miss Malfoy."

She forced herself to arrange her features into indifference as she walked by. The story she had told herself – should Percy ask – was that Fred had cheated on her with a multitude of girls (and boys, just for added humour value), and she had left him and went home to her family.

But Percy only gave her a stare as she passed, and then shut the door behind her as she entered the office.

Rufus Scrimgeour was sitting behind the desk in the office, his tawny hair streaked through with grey, his face scrunched up in a way that made you sure that he had never smiled in the majority of his adult life. He barely looked up when Selene walked up, just rifling through the papers on his desk at an alarming pace.

"Sit down." He said, sharply but not unkindly, after a few moments of silence. "I don't have all day."

Selene took a cautious seat in the tattered chair opposite the Minister, and regarded her hands. She made sure that her ring was invisible, and subconsciously shoved that hand in her pocket too. There was a final rustling of papers, and the Minister looked up at her.

"Miss Malfoy…" He said, distastefully, her name sliding off the end of his tongue like ice. Selene held her head up; managing what she hoped seemed like a regal nod. She clenched her hand up into a fist, feeling the familiar, comforting texture of her ring.

"Minister Scrimgeour." Selene answered him, in a tone equally as icy as the Minister's own. "Congratulations on your promotion."

Scrimgeour nodded, looking Selene up and down slowly, before nodding and tenting his fingers, narrowing his eyes as he met Selene's own. "I have a few questions." He said, after a few moments of not blinking.

"But of course." Selene flinched inwardly at the tone of her voice – she sounded too much like her aunt for comfort, and she wanted to smile or say something to break the ice, but of course 'Ministry-Selene' wouldn't do that. Not now, not ever. "What do you want to ask me Minister."

"It says here that you were romantically affianced with one Frederick Weasley." Scrimgeour said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you still, in any way, in contact with any of the Weasley family?"

"No." Selene scoffed, praying that it sounded genuine. "Yes, I dated Frederick Weasley for a period of six weeks in my sixth year. However, he was no, shall we say, _faithful."_

Scimgeour seemed content with this answer, but Selene set up a huge mental wall, much like the one between the Leaky Cauldon and Diagon Alley. She doubted that he knew Legimancy, but:

Constant vigilance.

"Very good." He said, tone still stoic but his muscles relaxing. "And your view on Sirius Orion Black, recently deceased framed Death Eater? You were his cousin, weren't you? Did you ever meet Mr Black?"

This caught Selene off guard (why Sirius? Why ask about him?) But she nodded all the same, crossed her right leg over her left (her aunt used to do that) and smirked.

Constant _vigilance._

_ Sirius would be proud of you._

"Yes, once." Selene forced a scathing laugh. "I fully believed he was a Death Eater at the time, and naturally I was terrified. We didn't get along afterwards, for the hour I spent with him. His death was in fact a relief. We can't have any more Blood Traitors in the Black family."

_Ironic._

"And your father." Scrimgeour now seemed indifferent (even if Selene wanted to, she couldn't free Lucius Malfoy). "Were you aware he was a Death Eater?"

Selene sat up straighter, and tightened her fist in her pocket.

_Come on, just say it. You just have to be convincing, for the Order, for Fred, for everyone. No one will care._

"N-no." She eventually choked out, wincing at the shocked expression on the Ministers face, which lingered only for a moment. "He was placed under the Imperius Curse in the first war, the Dark Lord must have placed him under it again! I testified for my father the first time – he was not even given a _trial _this time!"

_Again, ironic. Sirius never got a trial either, and he was innocent. Father is guilty, and neither did he._

"Rules are rules." Scrimgeour still seemed indifferent. "You are not above the law, Miss Malfoy. _Not any more."_

* * *

"I have news." Selene stood up, waiting for the chatter to die down until she continued. "From the Ministry."

She looked around at the expectant, awaiting faces, and felt a small blush rise to her face. Fred squeezed her hand, and she met his eyes for a split second before she elaborated.

"Scrimgeour is having a total crack-down, in all departments." Selene explained, twisting her ring round and round her finger. "He's not letting much slip, but I think he might be trying to get Harry to endorse the campaigns he's trying to release."

"We can't have that." Emmaline Vance cut in, her face mutinous. "What right does he have, to use a poor boy like Harry as a… As a poster boy!"

"Let her finish." Moody boomed, over Emmaline, before gesturing to Selene. "Go on girl. What else do you know?"

"Not much else." Selene admitted, face flushing an even darker shade of red. "Percy-" The Weasleys tensed. "-Is the Ministers assistant, I think he might suspect something. The cover stories don't match up perfectly."

"Nevertheless, thank you Selene." Dumbledore said pleasantly, smiling at her as she sat down. Then he stood up in her place, and looked around at the Order. "Onto our next subject. As many of you know, Remus Lupin is working within the wolf packs to recruit sympathisers to our cause. I have a team on standby, in case of emergency."

It was in that moment that Selene realised what she had been missing, all of this time. Ever since Dumbledore had told her of her duty, months and months ago.

She _was _the team.

She was on her own.

And if Remus did get into trouble the only person that could help him would be her.

A eighteen year-old, in a pack of wolves.

Needless to say, she had new nightmares that night.


	71. Chapter 70: One Year Gone

**Hey!**

**Thank you to Optimistic Pessimist that I am, dumblesbashing, bellatrixD, The Lonely Assasin, HT118 (note to self, READ THAT STORY!), Blacklab369, Gurl5678, sarahmichellegellarfan1, xSiriusly Insanex, and…**

**Guest! That question is pretty good actually, not weird at all XD. The answer is… I think she would save the random person. I think she's become that kind of person, whereas at the beginning she'd save herself instead. And celebrities… I think Lily looks a little like Hayley Williams, singer of Paramore and Selene looks like Alexandra Daddario, before she dyed her hair blonde, the actor of Annabeth in Percy Jackson. Kind of… That's all I have. Sorry.**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! Yes, it's 2015! Oh gosh… I'm back to school tomorrow, so less updates, stuff like that. But yeah.**

**I have one other chapter story NOT on hiatus, it's called Guardian Angel and I'd love it if you read it XD**

**So many people want to know about the wedding, so I've given you some information in this chapter. Not much, but… Fun stuff.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Our memories, well, they can be inviting, but some are altogether, mighty frightening." - Don't Speak by No Doubt

* * *

Chapter 70: One Year Gone

"No, no, no!" Mrs Weasley clucked, shaking her head quickly, snatching up the piece of paper Fred had been doodling absentmindedly. "Just… No!"

"What's he done now?" Ron asked, poking his head around the doorframe.

"Never you mind, you need to help your father pack." Mrs Weasley shooed Ron away, and then turned back to look down at the two slightly sheepish people in her kitchen.

She sighed deeply, taking a deep breath and placing the parchment on the countertop. "Fred." She said, after a moments pause. "Bright orange suits…" She blanched, but swallowed it down. "Fred, you and George are not going to wear bright orange."

"Oh, I'm not going to wear orange." George said, a little too brightly. "I'm going to wear bright pink."

Mrs Weasley's eyes bulged. "Please, lord give me strength…" She murmured to herself, steadying herself with the table and shaking her head.

Selene walked down the stairs at that moment, levitating Ginny's trunk with her wand. She almost walked into a wall when she saw the scene unfolding in the kitchen, but stopped herself too.

"Okay!" Mrs Weasley said, in a high-pitched voice that broke halfway through the word. "Okay, you can wear whatever you want. I'm just so…" She let out a huge sob, and Selene mentally facepalmed. "So… Pleased!"

"We get it Mum, we all thought that Fred would die a bachelor." George sighed, rolling his eyes when Mrs Weasley turned away to wipe her eyes with the edge of her apron. "But now he's engaged and it's all so amazing. Calm down."

Mrs Weasley waved a hand non-committedly, and Selene guided Ginny's trunk down the last few stairs. She shared a glance with Fred, and decided to go out around the back, rather than the front and risk being seen by Mrs Weasley, who might just have a mental breakdown.

"What is the big deal with it?" She asked Fred later, as they apparated with George to Kings Cross in order to catch up with the rest of the Weasleys with Harry and Hermione. "You getting married, I mean."

"Oh, that." Fred laughed, shaking his head and winking at a pretty Muggle girl. "Something down the lines of me insisting until I was thirteen that 'girls were icky' and then me not holding a girlfriend for more than three weeks after I turned fifteen."

"Except me." Selene laughed, ignoring the wink and shaking her head. After all, Fred only tried to seduce random girls to inflate his ego, and as they always turned him down (especially after they found out he was engaged) it was good in the end.

After all, Oliver kept coming onto her every time they saw each other, despite the former's infatuation with Katie, and Fred got terribly jealous when that happened.

"Why are you smirking?" Fred asked suspiciously. "You've got that… That _look. _The one you had back in the beginning of sixth year."

"We decided not to ever discuss sixth year." Selene murmured, kissing Fred sweetly (much to George's aggravation) and then pulling away. "Ever."

"One for the best man speech." George muttered under his breath, towing the other two towards the barrier, where the rest of the Weasley family were waiting.

"You go first Harry, with Ron." Mrs Weasley said, looking at the former of the two for a split second before pushing the pair towards the barrier. "Then Hermione, with you Ginny. The rest of us will follow on after."

"I slipped Harry some WWW merchandise." Fred whispered into Selene's ear.

Selene bit back a laugh and smiled, watching Ginny and Hermione disappear before heading through, flanked by Fred and George.

"Keep safe Harry." Selene gave the – now taller – boy a hug. "If you need anything, let me know."

"I'll be fine, I promise." Harry said, pulling away and smiling. "Don't let Mrs Weasley drive you insane either Sellie."

"I'm sure she won't. Be sure to tell everyone about being a bridesmaid." Selene laughed.

Harry stuck his tongue out at her – earning a bemused chuckle from George, and walked towards the train. Selene could hear Fred telling Ginny sternly that: 'she was too young to date anyone and that he would murder any boy that laid a single hand on her'.

"I'll make sure the boys actually do some work." Hermione insisted, as she hugged Selene goodbye with a grin. "And is it true that Fred tried to get Mrs Weasley to wear a fish on her head?"

"I really wouldn't put it past him." Selene sighed, looking up just in time to see a flash of blonde hair walk past her. "Katie!"

Katie looked up, grinning when she saw Selene standing there. "Thank god!" She said quickly, giving Selene a hug and then turning to the twins with a slightly bemused expression. "Why didn't you tell me that you'd be here to see me off?"

"Well, Bell-" George began.

"We thought we'd-"

"Surprise you." A third, deeper voice cut in, and Katie squealed, launching herself into Oliver Wood's arms. Hermione giggled to herself, before walking off to join Ron and Harry.

"OLLIE!" She just about yelled, eyes bright. "I missed you so much!"

Oliver chuckled, shaking his head. "I was having enough trouble with these two here." He grinned, gesturing to Fred and George.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?"

Selene nodding, forcing back the vomit that came with looking up at the slightly soot-streaked building in front of them, and closing her eyes. "Someone has to, and Harry isn't going to." She said, repeating Mrs Weasley's words of the week or so before.

Fred nodded, taking her hand and tracing the scar on the back of it tenderly. "Do you want me to come in with you?" He asked quietly.

"Yes please." Selene said in a small voice, not looking up at him at all. "If that would be okay, of course."

So they walked to the front door together, Selene fishing for the key in her pocket and picking it up between a trembling finger and thumb. Fred tried to steady her by placing his hand on her shoulder, but then let her move slightly ahead of him and slip the rusty key into the lock.

Of course, they had been here before, but no one had let Selene know or see the true extent of the damage done to the old house. Maybe that was wrong, but whatever it was, she would know now.

The hallway smelled of soot, and was streaked with the stuff from top to bottom. Selene ran a hand over the faded wallpaper, tracing the shapes that were still visible, even underneath the thick black coating.

"Fiendfyre." Selene murmured, going pale. "That's why Sirius couldn't get out, it went straight for him…"

She said no more, focusing more on shifting the fallen furniture out of the way, starting with the old troll umbrella stand that Dora always fell over. Fred just stayed in the doorway, slightly reluctant to go any further.

"Is everything pretty much the same?" He asked, after Selene had moved a coffee table that better resembled charcoal now. "As in, the paintings, the décor…?"

"It looks like it-"

"RED HEADED SCUM BREEDING WITH THE PURE LINE OF BLACK WHAT WOULD MY HUSBAND THINK? DISOWNMENT AND TREACHERY EVERYWHERE!"

Despite the grim atmosphere, both Fred and Selene burst out laughing. Such a familiar sound after minutes of sombre silence was a welcome break, and it took the combined efforts of both of them to pull the curtains back over Mrs Black's portrait.

"You reckon Kreacher's still here too?" Fred asked, and then a House Elf popped up between them, making Selene jump backwards.

"Master is happy to serve Mistress Weasley." Kreacher said darkly, and Selene didn't correct him. "Kreacher must serve the heir of the Black estate, but that does not mean Kreacher wants to…"

"Kreacher." Selene crouched down so she was almost nose-to-nose with the House-Elf, and smiled at him politely. "For as long as I am the heir to the Black estate, you will refer to all visitors politely and kindly, you are forbidden to use the terms 'Mudblood' and 'Blood Traitor', and you will take orders from Fred as well."

Kreacher grumbled under his breath, but was unable to disobey these orders, however much he wanted to. "Yes Mistress." He said sullenly. "What would Mistress and Master want doing?"

Fred whistled, looking across at Selene in appreciation. "Blimey." He muttered.

"Could you start having a look at the damage in the kitchen please Kreacher?" Selene said, a little more warmly. "And I'm sure we can find you somewhere else to live that isn't in the boiler room…"

"Kreacher does not need Mistress's sympathy." Kreacher said, disapparating with a sharp crack.

"Not much has changed." Selene sighed, straightening up. "But at least he's not going to scream abuse at you anytime soon."

"I liked the touch of 'Mistress Weasley'." Fred smirked, with a shake of the head. "Does that mean we're screwing tradition then, my love?"

"I really don't think anyone would care less." Selene said honestly, starting up the stairs. "So yes, okay. We're screwing with it."

In a split second, Fred had apparated to the top of the staircase, and was smirking down at Selene, who frowned up at him.

"What?" He asked innocently, ignoring Selene's eyeroll. "I'm screwing with tradition so I wanted to screw with you too."

"Great." Selene murmured, slipping past him and peering into one of the bedrooms. "There doesn't look like much damage in here, so if we get these done first-"

"Did I say 'screw with you'?" Fred asked, whispering into her ear. He slipped one arm around her neck, and kissed her cheek. "Sorry, 'Lene, I meant 'screw you'."

* * *

_ Dear Selene,_

_ I guess you probably already guessed this, but Snape is the new DADA teacher. We had our first lesson today, and he's picking on me, like usual._

_ Slughorn is a pretty good teacher though, all things considered. I won Felix Felicis in one of his lessons for making a good Potion. I guess my bad grades were only down to Snape breathing down my neck all the time._

_ I'm thinking of holding try-outs this weekend – hopefully it won't rain – and thankfully there is no Umbridge now so everything's okay._

_ It's admittedly a little weird being at school without you and the twins, I keep looking over to the Ravenclaw table expecting to see you and of course you're doing god knows what in London._

_ How is work going? I hope Audrey hasn't guessed you out yet, I know we really need you. And the wedding, the last you told me is that Fred was vying to blow his Aunt Muriel up at the end of the service. I guess that was vetoed. _

_ Professor Slughorn asked after you to Malfoy in our Potions lesson. Luckily he bluffed his way out, but you'd better tread carefully if you ever come up to the school. At least everyone is buying your lies. Well, when I say everyone…_

_ Of course, Draco knows, and Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick have both asked me to send you their congratulations, and thanks for the invitations._

_ Anyway, it's slightly strange not having the twins here either. There's a war going on to fill the positions of pranksters-in-chief, and that's not helping the situations with Snape and Slughorn etc. etc._

_ NO, I don't want to be a bridesmaid, no matter 'how pretty I would look in orange'. Firstly, why orange? And second, I'm not a girl and I don't want to be known as the first male bridesmaid in the history of any wedding whenever. It's getting annoying…_

_ Anyway. Hopefully Snape won't drive me up the wall._

_ See you at Christmas,_

_ Harry_

_ xxx_

* * *

Selene marked off a few symbols on her sheet, and nodded as the small orb held in the palm in her hand flickered into bright life. Audrey looked over her shoulder and grinned.

"You're the first to finish." She explained, and Selene looked around in slight surprise. Everyone in here was older than her, and doubtless more experienced, so it was completely out of the blue that she managed to beat anyone, let alone everyone.

"Oh." She finally decided on, folding the paper up, placing the Spell orb (a new invention that tested the validity of the spell) on top. Then Selene stood up, her chair making a scraping noise on the stone floor.

Selene flushed when everyone turned to stare at her, but she still walked over to Cyril and passed him her work. The older man made a sound of incredulity in the back of his throat, but nevertheless didn't audibly comment on her age, or her inexperience.

"Good." He said, a little curtly. "You can, er, go, Miss Malfoy."

"Thanks." Selene smiled at him warmly, and turned away, before catching herself with a thud. She couldn't act very well at the best of times, and knowing that she'd been better than she expected herself to be… Her façade had dropped for more than a second, and that could mean that everything could come crashing down.

She swore under her breath.

"Actually." Selene spun, so fast that she stumbled (there were a few chuckles), to see Cyril looking at her with something akin to confusion. Then he shrugged it off and went back to his usual cold self. "No matter, Miss Malfoy. No matter."

This time, Selene just nodded curtly (cringing inside) and walked away, closing the door behind her.

The corridor was deserted. Selene exhaled thankfully, and made a beeline for the lift that would take her down to the Atrium, and home.

"As I was just saying to the Minister." Voices came from the lift that was heading towards her floor, and Selene managed to keep herself from flattening her body against a wall, just in time. "This whole business with the Death Eaters is getting stupid, I mean, we need to- _Selene?"_

The use of her first name completely threw Selene off-guard, and she stood there, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. She looked from Percy – the one that had made the slip-up, _he had used her first name _– to the other, older, taller man, that she recognised with a sick lurch of the stomach.

_Yaxley._

Yaxley was an old friend of her father's, also a Death Eater (along with Draco, _Draco, god, Draco) _and one of the many people that haunted her childhood.

She knew he had a job with the Ministry, but she had never expected to see him, especially since Selene made a special effort to avoid many people, namely Mr Weasley (as she was sure to slip up around someone like him, that she was friendly with to an extreme) and Percy, who was standing in front of her right now.

"Why!" Yaxley sounded deceptively friendly, kind even, but to a well-trained mind like Selene's he only sounded sinister. "It's little Selene, all grown up!"

"Yaxley." Selene smiled back, dipping a curtsey (still clumsy, after all these years), as was Pureblood custom when meeting someone your senior. "It's good to see you."

"Shit at lying still." Not all pretences were gone, and Yaxley still sounded warm. But his face was screwed up into a scowl. "Really, you're crap at it all _Princess."_

"I don't know what you mean." Selene said, blinking a few times innocently (_stay calm he can't hurt you here_). "I'm sorry, I really need to get home, Mother is expecting me to come… Shopping with her this afternoon."

She made to slip past them, and nearly made it. Yaxley didn't do anything overt, however, he simply clutched her wrist and bared his teeth, and then it was over.

_I'm warning you._

* * *

When Selene came home at two in the afternoon, looking like she'd just escaped from a Death Eater raid, Fred handed his duties to Lee (who had handily decided to drop round earlier that day) and took Selene's hand, slipping past the throngs of people trying to get out of the door and out into the bright September sunshine.

"Come on." He said, in answer to Selene's curious expression. "I barely get to see you any more love."

Lots of people also seemed to have the same idea as Fred and Selene, and there were families with young children too young for Hogwarts swarming around (many going for the joke shop, Selene noted), and older couple simply enjoying what would probably be the best day for a long while.

"Come on." Fred whispered into her ear. "We don't want you to get seen love. Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Selene asked, whilst Fred pulled them into a side alley. "Fred, you gave work and I'm-"

Fred responded by kissing her, and then apparating them both away from Diagon Alley, the shop and any Ministry workers that might recognise Selene.

They reappeared on a cliff top, one that Selene recognised as the same one on which Fred proposed to her, last Christmas. She stumbled a little, but not enough to need a support, and Fred chuckled, shaking his head.

"Come on." He smirked, wrapping one arm around Selene's waist and pushing her down to the ground. "You look like hell 'Lene. What's happened?"

Selene sighed, brushing her hair off her face – Fred sitting down next to her, one arm still around her waist – and watched the sea for a while, searching for a response that wouldn't immediately alarm.

"I was just… Scared." She admitted, resting her head on Fred's shoulder. "I had a bit of a shock and it terrified me."

Fred was silent.

Selene sighed, and began to elaborate. "Do you remember the day your family came to the shop?"

"Ah, yes." Fred groaned, rolling his eyes. "Mum had a massive go at me for going out past seven at night."

"When I was walking back from seeing Dora," Selene took a deep breath, swallowed, and moved her head so she was looking at the grass rather than the sea. "I saw Draco."

The silence that followed weighed on Selene in a million different ways. IT made her heart sink, it made her head hurt, and then when she fell backwards listlessly it made her want to lie there until it stopped hurting her so much.

"I'm so scared." She repeated, closing her eyes from the bright glare of the sun that was too bright for wartime at all. "If they haven't already, Draco _will _become a Death Eater. And he's my brother, I don't want that on my conscience, knowing that I…"

"It's not your fault love." Fred murmured into her ear, and Selene's eyelids flickered open. "You take everything personally, that's your fatal flaw."

"How is that fatal?" Selene asked, turning her head to one side so she could see Fred as well as hear him. He was lying on his side, studying her a little weirdly.

"Mum used to tell us bedtime stories like that." Fred admitted, his mouth curving at the edges. "We all have a fatal flaw. Mum's, for example, is her devotion to Gilderoy Lockhart."

Selene snorted. "Yours is that you never know when to stop." She smiled at Fred's affronted expression. "What other stories did she tell you?"

"Oh, the usual really.' Fred said flippantly. "The Tales of Beedle The Bard, Gadding With Ghouls… Oh, and that everyone has a weakness."

"Your weakness is bacon." Selene laughed. "That's not hard to guess."

"Ah, now that's where you're wrong, my love." Fred smirked. "I think, and this is purely a guess remember, that my weakness is you."

Selene flushed pink, and rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't have said that three years ago."

"Three years ago," Fred answered delicately. "I had more books than experience. In fact, Angelina began to date me because she thought I was literally a god in bed. Which isn't strictly false."

"Please, shut up." Selene muttered, before realising her mistake as Fred grinned and winked at her.

"But of course."

Fred rolled onto her and Selene winced in pain. He was extraordinarily heavy, probably from years of Quidditch and eating bacon by the shedload.

"You're heavy." She complained.

"I thought you knew that." Fred countered.

"I said to shut up."

"You said I was heavy."

"_You _were talking about shagging one of my best friends!"

"_You _were looking adorable!"

"_You _just called me adorable!"

"You get so cute when you're worked up."

"I told you to shut up, Fred."

Fred grinned, standing up and offering his hand to Selene. "Come on." He said, waiting until she was upright and wrapping his arms around her. "What else is wrong?"

Selene sighed, resting her head on his shoulder and looking out towards the horizon, and the sea below. "I had a shock, that's all." She admitted, looking up through her eyelashes. "You really don't need to worry about it Fred. I can handle it."

He nodded, playing with a strand of her hair absent-mindedly. "I like how, if anyone sees us, we just seem like an ordinary couple." He continued, smiling as Selene nodded into his shoulder. "No War, no annoying families…"

"I'm not sure if you're referring to my family or yours there." Selene grinned, looking up. "Thank you."

"The Selene I originally fell in love with would never even suggest that." Fred smirked, kissing her softly. "I love you even more now I've corrupted you."

* * *

The Ministry was always quiet on a Sunday morning. Not many people worked Sundays, and the ones that did were either higher up in the hierarchy or simply required to go to work, whether they wanted to or not.

Selene had been called in by Cyril, simply because he 'needed work doing' and no one else was available.

Mr Weasley had insisted on taking her anyway, as he had to go in too, but they had parted ways before they got to the entrance.

"I don't trust Cyril." Mr Weasley had cautioned, as they walked through the busy streets of central London. "At all. Tread carefully around him."

"He doesn't like me." Selene admitted, as they turned the corner. "It's not that I'm just out of school, it's like he genuinely wants to murder me and he'd enjoy doing so."

Mr Weasley stopped suddenly, and turned to Selene, placing a hand on one of her shoulders. "You're like a daughter to me." He said honestly. "Fred loves you, George thinks of you as a sister, and Ginny and Ron adore you. Please be careful Selene."

Selene thought of the clock, on the wall of the Burrow's kitchen. All twelve hands – Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione and her – pointing to 'Mortal Peril'. She had been told so many times that she was a Weasley at heart, if not by blood, that she was like a daughter to Mr and Mrs Weasley, like a sister to the rest…

Somehow only the clock seemed to cement that.

"Thank you." Selene smiled. "That means a lot."

"Your parents still care for you, my dear." Mr Weasley said, in a lower tone, and Selene tensed. "No, they do. I still love Percy as I do the rest. Just because he isn't here doesn't mean I can't."

And now she was walking thorough the silent atrium of the Ministry, past the statues, ignoring the man sitting reading a _Prophet _at the wand check desk, up to the lifts, standing open, waiting.

One more person walked into the lift Selene was in, just before the doors closed. Selene looked up, in complete surprise, and then gasped.

Because the person that walked in was the very one she never expected to see again. She wanted to see him again, of course, but she knew deep down that she never would.

But now he was in a lift with her.

Gregory Greengrass.

Missing, presumed dead.

But seemingly alive.


	72. Chapter 71: Deeper, Darker

**Thank you to OPTIAM, Tonisa zan Frella Sherlolly, Guest (no problem!), bellatrixD, Maeve-Juniper, HT118, HayleyGoth, xSiriusly Insanex, sarahmichellegellarfan1, Gurl5678, Batrice Chathine and TwilightMoonbeams!**

**Now. To everyone that wants to know when the wedding is. Very soon, I promise! Okay?**

**There's a poll up on my profile for the wedding song. The songs are a little obscure so… You might need to have a listen if you don't know any of them. **

**This chapter is a lot darker, and we start to head towards War, properly…**

* * *

"It seems like days that I've been waiting, for this dream to pass." - Numb by The Airborne Toxic Event

* * *

Chapter 71: Deeper, Darker

Davy Gludgeon died like he had lived – quietly.

Ever since he had lost an eye at Hogwarts, when he used to poke the Whomping Willow with sticks, Davy had stuck to the shadows of the Ministry. So when a job opportunity came along in the Department of Mysteries, he took it and craved every second of it.

When he heard someone walk up behind him that day, that Sunday, he assumed it was simply a colleague.

He turned around just in time to see a jet of green light zooming towards him. Davy Gludgeon died before he could even scream.

Then his body was stepped over by two smart shoes, and the murderer picked up the documents that Davy had been working on, stowed them in his jacket, and walked away.

The alarm was raised immediately, after they saw Davy's body. The entire Ministry echoed with the sound. But it had been an hour. A whole hour since Davy Gludgeon had died.

The lift that Selene was in didn't move an inch. She opened her mouth, about to ask Mr Greengrass something, _anything_, but he was gone, slipping past her and back into the Atrium.

Selene ran out after him, looking around, spinning in a circle, but he had completely disappeared. The entire Ministry seemed to be flowing into the Atrium at once, people from Magical Creatures, people from… Everywhere.

"What the fuck is going on?" Alicia had walked up to her, abandoning her colleagues from Goblin Liaisons and shaking her head.

Although she wasn't technically supposed to be friends with Alicia, Selene found herself sharing a terrified look with her friend, and blinking rapidly in the harsh glare of the lights that had just switched on.

"I have absolutely no idea." Across the Atrium, Selene saw Mr Weasley race in, eyes wide. He looked around, much like she had, and then pinched the bridge of his nose.

It was like hell had broken loose on Earth.

"Everyone, calm down!" Minister Scrimgeour yelled, his voice magically amplified. Selene quickly stepped a couple of paces away from Alicia, giving her a quick look that she hoped explained the gesture.

Then Selene heard a clicking of shoes, a funny little cough, and her heart completely sank.

Umbridge walked straight towards the Minister, her pink heels still clicking on the black marble floor of the Atrium. She was even shorter than Selene remembered, and her hair was significantly greyer than it had been the year previously.

But as the last she had seen of Umbridge was in a bed in the Hospital Wing, Selene wasn't surprised.

"I'm afraid," She called out, in her high-pitched, slightly squeaky voice, "That there has been an… Unfortunate incident."

Selene's eyes widened, and she saw Mr Weasley doing the same, across the Atrium.

"Involving Death Eaters." Umbridge continued, and Selene's blood froze. "I'm afraid we're going to have to take a few of you in for interrogation, just in case."

"We can take no chances." Minister Scrimgeour spoke up, tone cold. "Not when You-Know-Who is warring against us. Please may we speak to all Department of Mysteries employees, and, ah, Selene Malfoy from Experimental Charms."

Everyone's eyes seemed to snap right to Selene, all of them that knew the girl either by sight or by speaking to her, however briefly. She felt herself begin to flush, but she held her head up all the same, trying to at like, no, the prospect of being interrogated didn't terrify her.

She was her aunt. She was aloof, above all, and most of all strong. Crazy. Willing to kill for what she believed.

Selene began to open her mouth to say something cold to the Minister, but nothing came out. It was like someone had taken her voice. She just exhaled, and closed her eyes.

She could do this.

The workers from the Department of Mysteries all shot Selene disgusted looks as she walked past, head held high. Tears came to her eyes, she wanted to turn around and tell them all the truth, but she kept walking, eyes blurred up.

_What had happened?_

It hadn't been her. She had been at the Ministry for all of ten minutes when Gregory Greengrass walked into her lift, and then disappeared out of sight before she could say a word.

It couldn't have been him either, she knew Mr Greengrass from her childhood as a man that would never hurt a fly. A kind man, a firm but gentle man.

When Astoria had come running to her, because Daphne was having a panic attack, Selene never expected to see Mr Greengrass again. People would die, inevitably (she took a deep breath in as Sirius swam to the forefront of her mind), and the only thing she could do was run, and help those she could.

But Fred had stopped her from running. Maybe this _was _all her fault? Maybe, purely because she had stayed in England, she deserved to go away, to Azkaban even-

"Miss Malfoy." The Minister said harshly, as Selene took the seat opposite him, on the other side of the desk. "You understand what had happened here, yes?"

"Yes, I do, but-"

"Silence!" The Minister barked at her, ignoring Selene's slip up. "There might not be a jury here, but you are still being interrogated. Dolores?"

Umbridge smiled toothily down at Selene, shaking her head and tutting. "I think…" She said slowly, and Selene silently swore. "That Miss Malfoy has been lying to you, Minister."

Selene looked at Umbridge desperately, but received only another sick smile in return. "Is that so?" The Minister asked, looking rather pleased. "What seemed to be the problem, Dolores?"

"Miss Malfoy is, in fact, lying about everything." Umbridge was still looking rather pleased with herself.

"That's nothing-" Selene began again, face paling. "Nothing to do with you! All I want to do is get my father out of Azkaban and-"

"You thought killing a man was the way to do it?" The Minister spat at her.

"I didn't kill him!" Selene said hysterically, voice getting higher and higher. _No no no no no… _"I didn't! Arthur Weasley can vouch for me, he was-"

"She came in too late." A third voice came from behind Selene. Selene twisted around in her seat, her eyes widening again when she saw the speaker. "I saw her, Minister, Miss Umbridge. I'm afraid you've got the wrong person."

Scrimgeour muttered an audible curse under his breath, and waved his hand at Percy. "Fine." He sighed wearily. "Take her out, Weasley."

Selene found herself being pulled up by an arm, and then the door shut behind her, and she was alone in the Minister's waiting room, with Percy Weasley, who was staring at her with wide eyes of his own.

"What?" She asked, before Percy could get a single word out. "Percy, why did you-"

"You don't have to hide anything around me." Percy smiled at her, a gesture that seemed foreign. "I saw you arrive with my father, earlier, as you might have guessed."

Releasing a breath she had not been aware of holding, Selene smiled back at Percy, the façade dropping easily, now she knew that she was safe, among people that would let her stay as she was normally. "Thank you." She said, a little choked up. "I wanted to tell you, when I saw you with Yaxley."

"You didn't, you don't trust me." Percy said easily. "You're right not to. I enjoy my job. You have my congratulations, however."

Selene looked down at her hand, but Percy laughed, a little haltingly, in a way that seemed almost a little sarcastic.

"I'm sure Mother would admit to sending me an invite to you and my brother's wedding." Percy said, face slack but eyes warm. "I would love to go, but I'm afraid there might be a less-than-exemplary reaction."

"It's fine." Selene found herself saying, completely out of the blue. "Please, I need to keep this all secret Percy. The Minister can't know that I'm in touch with your family, let alone about to marry into it. Does Umbridge know?"

"Almost undoubtedly." Percy said curtly. "You need to go, Selene. Before they find you here. They would definitely guess then."

"Thank you." Selene repeated. "One thing: who died?"

Percy's face turned stony again. "Davy Gludgeon, of the Department of Mysteries." He said, sombrely. "You'd better go, Selene. My brother would kill me if I let anything happen to you."

"Thank you." Selene said, for a third time. "Percy, please, Mrs Weasley wants you home, we would love to see you at the wedding-"

Percy shook his head. "_Go_." He whispered, before turning around and walking back into the office.

* * *

There was no one in the flat when Selene came in. Fred and George both seemed to be in the basement – where all the experiments were conducted – and Verity had shut up early for the Sunday.

She threw a handful of green Floo Powder into the fire, and called out for Dumbledore's office. "Professor?" She called, kneeling down (feeling a little foolish as she did) and sticking her head close to the flames. "Professor? Are you there?"

There was no answer. Selene stopped trying after a few moments, and sighed, flopping backwards onto the sofa. She picked up the book she had abandoned in the early hours of that morning (another nightmare), and found the bookmarked page.

Instead of the printed type, crooked, pencilled-in letters at the base of the page caught her eye.

_Hey 'Lene._

Although it was writing in a book, Selene laughed a little, turning the page and reading the next line of letters.

_Missing me yet? Well, I'm just down the corridor if…_

"So much for being subtle." Selene smiled down at the letters.

_I like the Beatles album you left for me in the kitchen._

_ Not that I get the lyrics._

_ 'I Am The Walrus'? What kind of name is that?_

_ I like 'Penny Lane' though, love._

_ Reminds me of you._

_ Sorry for writing in this book, by the way._

_ Just feel free to yell at me. It turns me on._

"Oh god…" Selene giggled, looking up from the book and staring into the still-green flames. Then she face-palmed.

"Filius Flitwick's office!" She called into the flames.

"Miss Malfoy?" A slightly squeaky voice called back. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me Professor." Selene smiled. "Can I come through?"

"Of course!" Flitwick answered.

Selene stood back, taking another handful of Floo Powder and throwing it in, and then whirling through to Flitwick's office.

She stumbled a little on her way out, but didn't trip over. Flitwick was sitting at his desk, on his pile of cushions that made him seem taller. "Miss Malfoy!" He squeaked delightedly. "It's lovely to see you, finally! I was hoping you would stop over at some point!"

"It's nice to see you too Professor." Selene smiled, dusting herself off. "How are you?"

"Very good, thank you.' Professor Flitwick squeaked. "Take a seat my dear girl, yes, that's it."

Selene took the seat that he offered, and bit her lip. "This isn't strictly a pleasure call." She admitted, face pale. "You've heard about what happened at the Ministry earlier, I guess?"

"Very nasty business." Flitwick said grimly. "Poor old Gludgeon… He was always rather clumsy. But why? You weren't there, were you?"

"I was there." Selene added, shivering a bit. "In fact, I think the Minister suspected me."

"That's…" Flitwick tailed off as the door opened, and his grim expression sprang up into a slightly forced smile. "Ah! Horace!"

"Filius." The newcomer puffed, and Selene turned around to see a fat man, dressed in Slytherin green robes, walk into the room. His eyes flickered to Selene almost instantaneously, and his eyebrows sprang up as well.

"Where are my manners?" Flitwick corrected himself, and Selene stifled a grin behind her hand. "Horace, this is Selene W- Malfoy still, in fact, an ex-student of mine. Selene, this is Horace Slughorn, the Potions Master now."

Selene smiled at the fat man kindly, and extended a hand for the Potions Master to shake. "I've heard a lot about you from Harry." She explained.

Slughorn's expression turned almost instantly. "Oh ho, you must be the young lady Harry was talking about in Potions the other day." He said, with a waggle of a finger. "Harry is a dab hand at Potions, just like his mother. And you're his… God-cousin?"

"Yes." Selene said, a little worried, but receptive just the same. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason my dear girl, none at all." Slughorn puffed, with a jovial smile. "You're also young Draco's sister as well, aren't you?"

"I'm afraid I'm not in very good terms with him anymore." Selene bit her lip again. "But yes, I am, Professor."

"Call me Horace." Slughorn smiled. "If I may call you Selene, that is?"

"Of course." Selene smiled. "I'm sorry, I can't stay long. My fiancée will be worrying."

"Oh ho!" Slughorn positively beamed. "A pretty girl like you, already tied down? Who's the lucky man?"

"You'll know his brother and sister." Selene smiled, standing up. "Fred Weasley?"

Slughorn looked shocked, but then he nodded. "One of the owners of that funny little joke shop on Diagon Alley." He noted, to himself. "Ah, yes. I'd be honoured if you attended one of my dinners Miss Malfoy. The next is on… The 15th of October."

"I'd be honoured." Selene smiled again, giving Flitwick a slightly warmer gesture as a goodbye. "Goodbye Horace, Filius."

"Feel free to come by and say hello at any time." Flitwick squeaked, as Selene went through the Floo again. And then, almost unperceivably, he nodded at her.

* * *

"This place is surprisingly tidy." Angelina wrinkled her nose. "Too tidy. Let me guess, this was completely Selene?"

"Completely." Fred rolled his eyes, pushing a neat pile of books over. "That's better."

"I resent anything he might have told you." Selene said, walking in at that moment. "Everything he told you, in fact."

Angelina rolled her eyes as well, but didn't comment audibly. "Right!" She said cheerily. "I'm off to see George, you two have fun."

"I don't see how 'study' counts as _fun_." Fred complained. "I'm just going to sit on the sofa while 'Lene does work."

"No." Selene looked up again, grabbing a few pieces of paper from the table and dumping them in his arms. "You are going to do what your Mother asked you to do, and work through the seating for the wedding."

Angelina shook her head sadly. "You don't get it Fred." She sighed. "Selene is trying to distract you so you don't shag."

Selene went bright pink, and Fred raised his eyebrows.

"George said so." Angelina said, with a slightly evil grin. "Apparently Selene is more prude than we thought, you poor little Fredd-"

"I am going to kill George." Selene said, through gritted teeth. She made to stand up, but was pushed back down by Fred.

"Whatever George told you is one hundred percent false." Fred insisted, the tips of his ears turning pink.

* * *

_Dear Selene,_

_ By the time you read this, I will be gone. I won't be with you any more. I'll be long gone from this World._

_ Please, my little girl, please keep being strong. God knows you'll need it, growing up with Lucius and Narcissa. And remember, I'll always be looking down on you._

_ Keep being strong; keep holding your head up high. Never stop looking for the answers. I'm sorry I can't be there for you as you grow up into the beautiful young woman you will become, I'm sorry I can't be there when you get married. _

_ I've sent this letter to my older brother, along with my own letter, explaining everything that has happened to me over the period that I have been a Death Eater, and the decision I have now made._

_ Please, remember me as your godfather, someone who loved you unconditionally. Someone that will always be there for you. Someone that wished to be a better person than I was. Maybe if I had been, then I wouldn't be condemning you to a life with Lucius and Narcissa. _

_ There is always someone that can save you Selene. I couldn't. But there will be others. I know my brother will love you as I did, when you meet him. You need to remember, my little girl, that you are never completely alone._

_ And the day on which you find this letter will be many years in the future. Maybe you're ten, or eleven, or twelve. Maybe even older, out of Hogwarts, with children and love and a job. And I won't be there, and that breaks my heart._

_ You won't understand it properly, when they tell you that I died. But you will one day. One day…_

_ Unconditionally, Selene. I will love you unconditionally, even when I am dead. That little girl, with that bright smile and the beautiful, plaited-up hair. What do you look like now, I wonder? _

_ All my love,_

_ Regulus_

* * *

Selene was rather quiet in the days that followed her finding the letter from her godfather. She still smiled though, and laughed, and talked when she was talked to, but the rest of the time she was silent, contemplative.

Everyone was edgy in the Ministry now. Selene and Percy had passed one another a few times in the hallways, never making eye contact. People still suspected Selene, of course, but they couldn't do anything but glare.

Dumbledore had talked about a covering-up of a death at the Ministry, but hadn't gone into the details. All he had really done was look at Selene instantaneously, with a nod. And that was all she needed.

Dora was still brown-haired, with dull eyes. She managed a stunted conversation with Selene, talking about Lily (unusually well-behaved), Andromeda (she'd been cooking a lot) and Ted (no more lawnmower incidents). Then she made an excuse, and disapparated away.

The still slightly sooty halls of Grimmauld Place made an eerie backdrop for the meeting, especially after most of the Order had left and Selene excused herself.

She went straight towards the top hallway, and then edged her way up the rotten stairs that led to the roof.

Selene stood far back from the edge, leaning against the railing a few feet away from the door that led back down to the main house. She closed her eyes, and exhaled as she let the air swirl around her, and the clinging smell of burning stick to her clothes like Spellotape.

For the first time in what felt like ages, she was completely alone. Fred and George were laughing with Bill downstairs, Fleur was helping Mrs Weasley back at The Burrow, Ron and Harry and Hermione and Ginny were at Hogwarts…

Silence.

Selene sat down, curling her legs underneath her, and leaned her head against the railing, watching the stars above her, finding first the Dog Star, then the Andromeda galaxy, looking past the moon to see the Draco constellation, then Bellatrix, the faint red glow of Mars, the paler glow of Venus, and then she closed her eyes.

Sometimes it was just comforting knowing that someone was watching over you. Selene barely remembered Regulus, but she knew that she had loved him, and she missed him as much as she missed Sirius.

"You okay?"

Selene's eyes flickered open, and she smiled as she saw George, looking down at her with slightly concerned brown eyes. "I'm fine thanks." She admitted, shifting slightly but not standing up. "You?"

"Tired." George said honestly, sitting down next to her. "The shop is a lot of work, more than I thought it would be. But I'm also having a lot of fun with the best man speech so…"

"Please don't start dancing drunkenly on a table." Selene groaned. "Anything but that Georgie-pie."

"I wouldn't do that to you Cheesecake." George grinned. "No, think of it more like this – I've put up with you two going as far to snog on front of my face, I've put up with my twin's innuendos and… Erm, lets say 'sexual tension', and now I'm letting you two become the soppiest couple known to wizard kind. This is my revenge Selene."

"You know that the day you get married Fred will bit back at you ten times worse." Selene sighed, but she gave up pursuing it. "Why are you up here? I would have thought that Mrs Weasley would be making you help her cook back at The Burrow, or you'd be talking to Mundungus or whatever."

"Nah." George answered flippantly. "I decided to come and find you. Fred's the one that's been coerced into cooking and Dung is off being a git. Fred told me about this place over summer."

Selene nodded, leaning her head back against the railing. George did the same, and they sat there in silence.

Finally George sat up slightly, and looked at Selene properly, fully on, so their eyes met. "This could have been all different." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "If Fred hadn't… Fallen for you, then I think it might be me that you are marrying."

"That's strange to think about." Selene smiled, running a hand through her loose hair. "I think of you as a brother George, nothing more."

"You're like my sister." George grinned, a little shakily. "I do wonder though if… Something would have happened. But then Fred came crashing down to Earth and fell head over heels for you. I've never really thought about it."

Selene nodded again, feeling a blush rise to her cheeks. "I think we will always just be brother and sister." She admitted. "But thank you George. For giving me a chance. All that time ago."

George's face was so close to hers now. She could feel his breath on her cheek; see his eyes flickering to her face and then back up to the sky. Selene felt like pulling away, but it couldn't hurt, could it? Just one…

Her eyes flickered shut as George slowly, hesitantly moved his face closer and closer to hers, before taking a deep breath and-

"We never talk about this." George said quickly, after he pulled away, looking disgusted. "It's like…"

"Kissing your sibling." Selene shuddered, with a little laugh. "It was worth a try I guess. Nothing would have happened between us."

George smirked, looking back up at the sky. "Do you know what Fred used to say in his sleep, between the Yule Ball and the Second Task, and then up to when you moved in?"

Selene raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "No, what?" She asked, curiously.

"This might be in the speech." George began elusively, but then he grinned again and shook his head. "Right. It was indistinguishable at times, but at others it sounded very much like your name, my dear."

Selene went bright pink. She stood up quickly. "Um… I'm going to find Fred now." She said, after a pregnant pause. "See ya."

"Use protection!" George called after her, in a falsetto, his eyes widening when she turned around and gave him two fingers.

She really had changed.

* * *

When Selene returned from the Ministry, the Thursday after the attack, she was greeted by Fred, holding two tickets. He barely let her enter before he spun her around, right in the middle of the crush of the crowd, ignoring the stares he got.

"Come on." He said cryptically, looking at Selene's flushed and puzzled face. "I have a rather crappy surprise to show you 'Lene."

"Okay." Selene giggled a bit, especially when Fred almost walked right into an old woman doing a bit of perusing. "Where are we going?"

"Just out of the way." Fred waved a hand. "Somewhere private."

Selene knew that most of the regulars knew her as Fred Weasley's fiancée, but she was still jumpy around some people, especially those older than Hogwarts age. But it was quiet enough today that no one stopped them as they walked into the back room, and then sat down on two chairs.

"Mum's booked us dancing lessons." Fred said, anticlimatically.


	73. Chapter 72: Being Young

**KEEPING THIS SHORT!**

**Okay. Thank yous to OPTIM, Blacklab369, xSiriuslyInsanex (okay, Lily crops up next chapter, I apologise), bellatrixD, HayleyGoth, sarahmichellegellarfan1, Guest (yes, they did actually kiss. The movies are complete shit, I'll give you that!), Gurl5678, The Lonely Assasin, HT118 and Maeve-Juniper (x2!).**

**I've been so busy. It's a wonder this is even written. Please enjoy! PM me if you want any clarification whasoever.**

**OH MY FREAKING GOSH I AM ALMOST ON 500 REVIEWS! I NEVER THOUGHT THIS WOULD HAPPEN OMG THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!**

**I will give a oneshot prize to the 500th reviewer. But I love you all. So much. You're all amazing. I need a name for you guys. Anyone have one?**

* * *

"I want you to want me, I need you to need me, I'd love you to love me, I'm beggin' you yo beg me." - I Want You To Want Me by Letters To Cleo

* * *

Chapter 72: Being Young

Even though every movement was drastically wrong to her, even though it felt like she was about to make a mistake that would send them both falling down, Selene managed to smile and ignore the person – or rather, people - in the corner of the room.

"Why is your mum here?" Selene asked, eyes flickering over. "And George. And Angelina?"

"I don't know." Fred muttered, moving awkwardly in his dress robes and trying not to trip over his own feet, which he would do eventually. "I really have no idea. Maybe to make sure that we actually try to dance properly?"

"I am." Selene said quietly, blocking out the insistent instructions of the shouting Italian woman. "I genuinely am, I'm not graceful."

"You're like a little baby giraffe." Fred smirked, spinning Selene around once, making sure she didn't trip over by moving backwards at the same time. "Still. Do you have any idea why they're here?"

"That's why I asked you." Selene sighed, wide-eyed, trying to look anywhere but at George, who seemed to be having the time of his life. "I don't know."

Fred gritted his teeth, but turned his attention back to Selene. She smiled up at him, feeling a little pang of happiness when he rolled his eyes in the general direction of the Italian woman, and gave George a discreet finger when no one was looking.

"We have to actually dance at the wedding." Selene reminded him, when Fred seemed to give up on actually doing anything.

"By dancing you mean I'll probably just be shagging you." Fred answered flippantly, with another smirk when Selene went purple. "I'm joking love. Occupational hazard."

Selene ignored him. "I've been invited up to Hogwarts by the new Potions Master." She explained, as Fred twirled her again. "This Saturday."

"Ooh, that sounds completely shitty." Fred shrugged. "It's up to you love. I guess even you can get bored of me after a while."

"Please, stop it with the innuendos." Selene blushed, shaking her head. "Just… No more, okay?"

"I'll settle for 'not when we're around other people'." Fred winked, turning Selene a darker shade of red. "But then again, you're more likely to jump me when we're alone, because you're shy."

Selene ignored him, again.

George watched their conversation, noting Selene's flushed face as a bad sign. He was going to win this bet, he needed to. Fred had an ego the size of a bloody planet right now, if not the entire universe. Selene only fed that ego. If he just proved his twin brother wrong…

"They really can't dance, can they?" Angelina said, seemingly amused.

"Fred cold, I bet, if he tried." George reasoned. "We have the same, above-average intelligence, the same hair, body – well, that's debatable actually-"

"George Weasley, just because I am probably the only person in the whole Wizarding World to have shagged the pair of you, doesn't mean you can discuss it with me."

George grumbled at the reminder of his girlfriend and his twin's previous relationship, however briefly touched upon it was. Angelina shook her head, letting out a heavy sigh.

"You two are some jealous arseholes." She stated aloud. "You obsess over something that happened three years ago. I'm dating you; Fred and Selene are getting married. Just… Let it go."

George grumbled again, but he shot a warning glance at Angelina when his mother walked over, looking slightly mortified.

"What are you two talking about?" Mrs Weasley said suspiciously.

"Nothing Mum."

* * *

Selene, for once, could barely move her feet. The Italian woman (what was her name?) had kept them 'dancing' until gone nine at night, along with the rest of the couples that had decided to learn how to dance. Mrs Weasley, George and Angelina had all left at seven, to cook tea for Bill and Mr Weasley and to go back to the shop respectively.

When they were finally allowed to go, Hogsmede was next to silent. "I can't handle apparating." Selene closed her eyes, leaning on Fred's shoulder. "I just… Can't."

"That's okay." Fred yawned. "I can get you back, I think."

"I love you." Selene said quietly, slipping her hand into Fred's with the little strength she had left.

"I love you too 'Lene." Fred yawned again. "Reckon anyone will notice if I just fall asleep in the middle of this street?"

"Yes, they will." Selene cut in quickly, eyes snapping open. "Can you just get us home?"

"But of course." Fred yawned one last time, before apparating them away with a sharp crack.

They re-appeared in the back room of the shop, and Fred picked Selene up – bridle-style – and carried her through to the pitch-black shop, and then up the stairs.

Selene slid her arms around Fred's neck, breathing into his shoulder and closing her eyes.

Fred chuckled, shaking his head as he looked down at the girl he was carrying. "You're adorable." He murmured, kissing the top of her head, eyeing the closed door of the living room warily before making a beeline for Selene's (often unused) bedroom.

Selene murmured something unintelligible into his shirt, eyes opening again only when Fred placed her down gently on her neatly made bed. "I'll be back in a second." Fred grinned, as Selene scowled at him. "Yes, you're adorable."

Selene picked up the book that was on top of the pile next to her, and lobbed it at him. "I might be tired, but don't call me adorable."

Fred left, picking up the book and winking at her, shutting the door with a click. Selene sighed, picking up the next book, and turning it over to read the back.

She noticed a slip of paper sticking out of the top of it, and looked at in surprise, dragging it out between two fingers.

_Remember to live, Freddie._

The door opened and closed again, and Selene glanced up quickly, folding the paper over a couple of times with one hand. Fred looked at her curiously, but passed her the book she had thrown at him back, and rolled his eyes when she put it back on the pile.

"Page 6. Move up, come on!" Fred protested childishly, climbing on the bed, next to Selene, and hugging her to him, with another yawn.

Selene flicked through the first few pages, resting her head on Fred's shoulder, and propped the book open with her elbow so she could wrap her arms around him too.

"Hope you don't actually mind me writing in your books love." Fred whispered, kissing her cheek. "It's a lot more fun than actually reading them."

Selene laughed, closing the book again and moving closer to him, threading a hand through his red hair and sighing. "I'm shattered." She yawned too, snuggling into his chest.

"Who knew dancing could be both deathly boring and tiring at the same time?" Fred muttered, picking up the book again and shaking his head at it. "You read too much."

Selene didn't answer. Fred looked down at her again, and watched her eyes meet his slowly, almost hesitantly.

"When we're married, every day will be like this." She said, after a pause. "Every single day."

"I never thought I would get married." Fred admitted, with another grin. "But I'm glad I am, to you."

"George is going to be insufferable." Selene grinned back, moving her arm and sliding it around his neck.

Fred rolled his eyes. "He already is."

Selene smiled, reaching up to kiss him, her hand still tangled in his hair. And everything to do with the War, and the Ministry, and just normal, dull, boring life, drifted away completely.

It felt like hours that they just sat there, hands on each other's wrists and hands and shoulders and cheeks, legs tangled up.

Fred pulled her onto his lap, and moved away, reluctantly. "Come on 'Lene." He said, a little grumpily. "Lets get some sleep."

As they lay there, arms still around one another, Selene could hear Fred's heart, and feel his hands on her back. He didn't seem to be asleep either. She shifted slightly, so she could see his face in the moonlight shining through the window.

"I'm sorry." She said, after a while of trying to find his chocolate-brown eyes. "George and Angelina are… Well," Her face heated up, and she knew that she was bright red even though she couldn't see herself. "George has been teasing you about it and…"

Fred laughed. "You're sorry about _that?" _He asked, with an audible eye roll. "Come on love. You're meant to be the smart one."

* * *

"Ah, yes!" Professor Slughorn, or, more rightly, Horace, greeted, when he heard the knock at his office door. "This will be our guest for this evening! Come in my dear, yes, come in!"

Selene pushed the door open with one hand; straightening the dress she was wearing (a red one, that Angelina had shoved at her the hour previously) with the other, and forced a slightly sickly smile onto her face. Professor Slughorn's introduction of her as 'their guest' had done nothing to quell her nerves.

The first thing Selene registered were the faces of Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley around the table. They both grinned back at her, which dispelled her nerves considerably. "Ah, yes." Horace said, with a jovial grin. "You'd know Miss Malfoy, wouldn't you Miss Granger, Miss Weasley? To those of you that don't know her, this is Selene Malfoy, an applicant for one of the many free places in Experimental Charms at the Ministry."

"Hi." Selene smiled, looking around, and smiling when she saw Neville among the other people. She quickly looked past Blaise (despite his lack of hostility the last time they had talked) but otherwise didn't comment on the people she recognised. "It's, erm, nice to… Meet you all."

"Always very modest." Slughorn boomed, with a laugh and a heavy clap on the back, like he had known her forever. "This is young Harry Potter's godcousin as well! Such a shame he couldn't make it tonight. Oh ho, did I mention that young Selene here is just a year older than some of you here?"

No one seemed to really care, by the lack of looks she was getting. A seventh-year that Selene recognised as Cormac McLaggen looked her up and down once, but shrugged and turned back to the boy that was beside him.

"And lets not forget her engagement." Slughorn beamed, lapping Selene on the back again. "You can take the seat between Mr Blaise and Miss Granger, there we go. So, Mr McLaggen, how is your father doing…?"

"Why didn't you tell me that you were coming?" Hermione whispered, eyes bright, as Selene took the vacant seat. "I could have got Harry to come for once!"

"Harry?" Selene queried, looking around curiously. "Where is he?"

"He's with Dumbledore, this week." Hermione admitted, not saying anything further on that topic. "So, how are you?"

Selene let the topic of Harry slide for the moment (she could always owl him), and smiled. "I'm good, thank you." She said, with a smile. "Mrs Weasley booked me and Fred dancing lessons this week."

"No way." Hermione grinned. "You didn't kill each other then?"

"No, I think I was too tired." Selene admitted, a little shyly. "It was… Nice though. Except for the person that was trying to teach us, she was just yelling at us in Italian. All I picked up was 'work harder!'."

"It's not long, is it?" Hermione smiled, passing the pheasant on to Selene, who handed it to Zabini. "Until you get married, I mean?"

"About two months." Selene smiled, brushing her hair off her face. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried, but… It feels… Right, if you get what I mean."

Hermione's eyes crinkled slightly. "You two are made for each other." She grinned. "You'll be fine Selene. You'll be fine."

"Will you be a bridesmaid?"

Hermione looked up again quickly, like she could hardly dare to believe what she had heard. "What?" She murmured. "What did you say?"

"Will you be a bridesmaid?" Selene repeated, biting her lip to hide a smile. "It'll be you, Ginny, Gabrielle and-"

Hermione let out a sudden squeal, and threw her arms around Selene. "Of course!" She gushed, still quietly, but a tone louder. "Thank you so much!"

"Are you quite alright Miss Granger?" Professor Slughorn asked, a little curiously.

"I'm fine thank you Professor." Hermione smiled. "I'm more than fine, in fact."

She sent a stunning smile to Selene, who returned it with fervour. Slughorn just chuckled again, and turned back to Pansy Parkinson, whom he was talking to at the moment.

* * *

"I don't get it." Fred groaned, flopping down next to Selene at the kitchen table in The Burrow, where Mrs Weasley had made them stay over for some unknown reason. "Why can't it just be jeans and t-shirts, that kind of crap?"

"Language young man!" Mrs Weasley aimed a swipe at his head. "And I'm not having any one of my sons married in a garden shed, in jeans, with a minimal audience! More bacon, dear?"

"Oh, I'm okay, thank you Mrs Weasley." Selene insisted, but more food was piled onto her plate even so. Fred smirked, leaning across when Mrs Weasley wasn't looking, and slyly taking a piece.

"And the seating plan!" Fred groaned again, sticking a tongue out when Selene pulled a face at his eating with his mouth open. He flicked through the papers that his mother had presented to him that morning with another groan, especially as he saw the content. "How many belated people-"

"Well, we have my family." Mrs Weasley began to explain. "Then your father's, then the Tonks's and the Lovegood's, the Spinnet's, the Johnson's, your shop assistant and her fiancé, Filius, Minerva, Albus said he would come… Pomona, and then we have your friend Oliver Wood and his family, Katie Bell…"

She went off on this tangent for too long, listing every single person that would be attending in detail, Selene's face getting paler and paler with every new name. It seemed like the entire Wizarding World would be there. Maybe getting Mrs Weasley to send out the invites was a bad thing.

"We could always elope." Fred whispered in Selene's ear, making her jump as he nicked another rasher of bacon.

"No." She whispered back. "Just… No, okay?"

"Ah, excellent!" Charlie strode in (which was pointless, considering his short height), beaming at the frying pan that was sizzling on the stove. "Bacon!"

"Do you all have a radar for it or something?" Selene said, blinking.

Charlie had returned from Romania the day previously, stating that 'he needed more socks' as his excuse, but, as he had confided to Selene later, he wanted to get to know her a little better before she became his sister-in-law forever.

"My bacon." Fred pouted, hugging Selene's plate to him. "Go… Stick your wand up your-"

"Language!" Mrs Weasley barked instantly, making Charlie burst into laughter. "Yes Charlie dear, just wait until I get you a plate…"

Selene was fascinated with the dynamic between each Weasley brother. Ron looked up to Charlie especially, but the twins preferred Bill for some unknown reason. Percy was the oddball, although Ginny had cited him back in sixth year as 'okay when he wasn't an arse'.

"How come _he _gets more bacon, when you literally don't let me have any?" Fred complained, looking down at the (now empty) plate.

Mrs Weasley ignored him.

"So…" Charlie drawled out, eyebrows rising. "Selene."

"Hmm?" Selene asked, looking up at the second eldest Weasley brother curiously.

"A woman of few words." Charlie said delicately, making Selene flush (and Fred scowl), whilst sitting next to her at the kitchen table. Fred reached across to take some of Charlie's bacon, but Mrs Weasley caught him and slapped his hand away. "So. You're getting married to dear Freddie-pie here?"

"Don't ever call me Freddie-pie." Fred groaned, resting his head in his hands. "_Ever_, Charlie."

Charlie ignored him. "I swear to god you seem familiar…" He trailed off. "Oh, yeah, I met you last year."

Selene's brow furrowed in confusion. "Dad dropped Charlie on his head when he was a baby." Fred explained, in a whisper. "That's why he often seems very vacant."

"I challenge you to a duel!" Charlie bellowed suddenly. Selene toppled backwards in surprise, but Fred caught her by the tips of his fingers. "A Quidditch duel, I mean. Two o'clock, in the orchard. Pick your team wisely…"

Then Charlie walked away, his eyes stuck to Selene's all the time.

And there was complete silence.

Until Fred broke it, by uttering: "Does Angelina have a training camp today?"

* * *

"I really don't understand this." George muttered, watching Charlie stride around like he owned the place.

"Charlie just kind of… Yelled it out, over breakfast…" Selene trailed off, tapping her broomstick nervously. "Is he always like that?"

"Nah." George replied flippantly, with a smirk. "He's trying to impress you."

Selene sighed. "Why is everything about impressing me?" She asked eyebrow's risen. "I'm not exactly impressive, nor do I look like someone who needs impressing."

"The thing is, in the Weasley family," George began to explain, catching Angelina's eye across the orchard and winking, "We all have someone we go to when we're in trouble. Can you imagine me and Fred going to Mum when we've broken something? No, we go to Bill, if it needs fixing immediately, Dad if it's unfixable, and Charlie if we want moral support. Charlie's just trying to get on your side, in the maddest way imaginable."

"That's sweet." Selene smiled at George, eyes flickering up to the trees, watching the red leaves flutter in the wind. "It must have been amazing to grow up with such a big family…"

She must have sounded wistful, because George was grinning again in no time. "You will know now 'Lene." He insisted. "If only Fred hadn't gone for such a bloody awful place then I might be considering-"

"What do you mean?" Selene asked sharply, eyes widening again.

"Nothing." George yawned, a little too quickly. "When's this bloody thing going to be over Charlie? We have two hours until the shop opens?"

One of the good things about catering to such a wide audience is that the twins could afford to have odd opening hours that suited them, and they could change them at a moment's notice. Once or twice Selene had arrived home from work to find groups of people camped out on the steps to the entrance, all waiting until the shop opened.

Selene, however, had more concrete working hours. But Cyril had given her a few days off (citing that he needed to fill in more paperwork before she could get her pretty much guaranteed spot, and Selene using the cover story of 'staying with her family').

"Just a second!" Charlie called back.

"Oliver looks happy." Selene pointed out, watching the Scot's eyes light up when Charlie's walked over to him.

"If it's Quidditch, Wood's happy." George replied, with a wave of the hand. "So. Apart from me, who else is on team... Whatever our team's name is."

"Alicia and Oliver." Selene said simply, grinning across at her friend, who grinned back. "And I don't know what our team's name is."

"Puddlemere Juniors?" Oliver cut in, walking over to the pair of them.

"No." Alicia cut him off. "Gobin Juice."

Selene laughed, and shook her head.

"Team Carrot." George grinned. "As you have me on your team."

* * *

Selene folded the piece of paper that confirmed her as the newest member of the Department of Experimental Charms in two, and placed it in her pocket. Audrey grinned wildly, and turned to Selene quickly.

"This means we're colleagues now!" She grinned, her American twang all the more noticeable.

"Well done." Selene summarised, smiling back, slightly less manically.

"Let's go and get a drink!" Audrey cut in quickly, slinging one arm around Selene's shoulders.

Selene tried to protest, but it was no use. Audrey's plans were set in stone. She led them both into the lifts, back up to the Atrium, and then, without warning, grabbed Selene's arm.

When they resurfaced in The Leaky Cauldron, Selene stumbled, and hand to grab onto a table for support. "That was really dangerous!" She managed to squeak out, feeling the blood rush to her face.

Of course, Fred side-along-apparated with her all the time, often at random times, but Selene (possibly foolishly) trusted him. Audrey on the other hand was a loud, brash American, with zero regard for her own safety (as proven by the mass amount of injuries she had caused herself so far).

"Two Firewhiskeys please!" She called out to Tom, who grinned toothily back at her.

"Uh, Audrey?" Selene piped up again, her nerves springing back up again. "I don't drink."

"You're eighteen." Audrey flapped her arms around a bit, rather pathetically. "Have some fun. You have to settle down as you get older."

Selene opened her mouth, to try and protest, but Audrey smartly snapped it shut again with a hand to her chin.

"Here we go." She said, giving Tom a flirtatious smile, and passing Selene one of the glasses of the liquid. "Bottoms up!"

As Audrey knocked hers back, Selene looked down at the Firewhiskey nervously, but eventually took a sip.

What harm could it do?

It felt pleasantly… Warm. Tingly, even. Like the back of her throat was catching fire slowly. Selene blinked a few times, and sipped again.

"You like it?" Audrey grinned. "There's nothing like this back home, it's all Muggle shit like brandy infused with extra alcohol. One of the many things I like about England."

Selene laughed, letting the last of the Firewhiskey disappear down her throat.

"Another please!" Audrey called, with an evil grin on her face that Selene didn't see.

* * *

"Come on Freddie boy." George said, buttoning up his jacket. "Selene's probably doing something with Sluggy Slughorn or Tonks."

Fred checked his watch again, a little nervously, but took George's words to heart and nodded, grabbing his jacket too. "I'll leave a note, just wait a sec Georgie."

He grabbed a quill and a spare scrap of parchment, and quickly wrote down a summary of where he and George would be for the remainder of that evening.

_ At the Leaky. Don't wait up; George wants to get piss-ass drunk. See ya love._

"Hurry up." George groaned, predictably, grabbing the quill off his twin and tossing it behind him. "I need a Firewhiskey, and Mum nicked all our spare bottles off us."

"As if I don't remember." Fred grumbled, pushing the front door open. "Ladies first."

"Piss off."

For once, no one was camped out on the steps of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Fred breathed a silent sigh of relief – the waiting customers could be rather pushy, and extremely annoying.

"Right." George started up, once they had began to walk down towards the Leaky Cauldron. "Pink suit, right?"

"You're wearing pink, I'm wearing orange." Fred yawned. "Mum obviously doesn't know. She'd throw a fit."

George snickered. "And how many bridesmaids are you two having?"

Fred smirked to himself, and silently counted in his head. "Four." He grinned. "But, ah, lets say, the last one isn't conventional."

"I fully support your decisions." George snickered again. "Especially this one. Muriel's going to blow her top."

This time George got to the door first, and held it open for Fred. "Ladies first." He quipped, with a smirk.

"Idiots just before."

"If I'm an idiot, you're an idiot!"

"I'm an insanely good-looking idiot."

"And you haven't been shagged for three years."

"Piss off."

George smirked, yet again, and looked around the crowded bar. Then his eyes widened, and he poked Fred sharply in the side.

"What?" Fred scowled, following George's gaze. He choked back a swear word, and then felt a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. "…Oh."

"My sentiments exactly." George grinned, watching Selene and the unknown, tall blonde woman with the Firewhiskey bottles. They seemed to be chatting, rather loudly.

Selene looked around when the twins approached, and although her mind was hazy, she managed to snap out of the alcoholic haze just before she could do anything condemning, like greet Fred with a kiss.

The problem was, the Firewhiskey made it hard to think of her back-story.

"Hello love." Fred grinned, as a greeting. Selene's eyes widened, and she looked at Audrey quickly, to check that the American witch was too intoxicated to realise Fred's, frankly seductive, way of talking to her.

Selene had knocked back a little over one bottle of Firewhiskey, but it transpired that Audrey had a much higher level of… Level of… Something than Selene, who was beginning to feel a little dizzy.

"I thought you two broke up _years _ago." Audrey laughed tipsily. "And that you swing both ways, Fred Weasley."

Fred blanched when he noticed what he had done, and looked at Selene quickly. George quickly caught Selene before she stumbled, and couldn't hide the huge grin that spread over his face.

"Hello Georgie." Selene giggled, looking up at George. "You're pretty Georgie."

"Oi!" Fred blurted.

Audrey looked at the three of them sharply. Selene giggled again, George tried to give her a friendly smile (that looked more like a leer in the bright light) and colour was flushing to Fred's face.

"She obviously knows you two well." Audrey decided on, in a monotone.

Selene giggled again.

"Very well." Audrey muttered, as George passed Selene on to Fred, who placed a less-than-platonic hand in Selene's, in an effort to keep her upright.

"Um, sorry." Fred decided on saying, deciding not to swig the last of Selene's Firewhiskey. "Audrey, wasn't it? We'll take Selene home…"

"Iwannashagyou." Selene slurred out, trying to kiss Fred.

Fred went bright pink, but looked a little pleased, and George broke out into loud guffaws. Audrey looked between Fred and Selene curiously, but then shrugged and took a swig of her Firewhiskey.

"You two go and shag then." She grinned at Fred's perplexed expression. "I'm pretty good at finding out things, Weasley. Selene should learn not to leave her ring where others can pinch it."

She gestured to the pocket of Selene's shirt and grinned as George nodded approvingly.

"They don't shag." George said to Audrey, watching Fred and Selene stagger out of the Leaky Cauldron. "Selene's straight-laced."

"Poor, poor guy." Audrey laughed. "I guess he gets it out other ways though."

"You have no idea." George groaned, making Audrey laugh again.

"You free tonight?" She asked, swigging back the last of Selene's Firewhiskey.

George shook his head. "Nah, I have babysitting." He gestured to Fred and Selene, who were now one step away from falling on the floor. "And I have a girlfriend too."

"That's okay." Audrey smirked. "You go and shag your girlfriend then."


	74. Chapter 73: Bells and Werewolves

**Hey!**

**I was off school with a cold today, so I dedicated most of my time to writing the rest of this chapter for you lot!**

**First of all: OH HOLY SHITCAKES 500 REVIEWS! THAT'S AMAZING! WHEN I STARTED THIS I THOUGHT MY LIMIT WOULD BE ABOUT 20 SO… THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!**

**Then we have the thank yous – OPTIM, bellatrixD, Hopeeee (who gets a one-shot. Yes I am writing that), xSiriusly Insanex (LILY IS IN THIS CHAPTER! YES SHE IS! And I am considering Charlie/Lily…), Gurl5678, Guest (ooh, yes. I didn't think of that… That'll come up soon then!), HayleyGoth and sarahmichellegellarfan1. **

**I promise you, next chapter is when all the Hogwarts kids return from school. I. Promise. **

**How many reviews can you give me, an ill nearly fifteen year-old? Meh, as long as it's over six, I don't care.**

**I love you all.**

* * *

"Because they took our love and they filled it up, filled it up with Novocaine and now I'm just numb." - Novocaine by Fall Out Boy [My favourite song off their new album]

* * *

Chapter 73: Bells and Werewolves

Selene tried to avoid Audrey, in the days that followed. According to the twins – who had discovered her in the Leaky – she had made quite a mess of herself, namely by ingesting Firewhiskey, and then learning the long way that she had a very low alcohol tolerance.

Luckily, both Fred and George seemed to see the funny side. Especially Fred, who had told her everything that she had said after they got back to the flat (including a minute-by-minute description of her actions, to boot) and then laughed as Selene groaned.

But it was futile to avoid someone that you worked with every second of the week, and this proved to be true in Selene's case as well.

"Hello lightweight!" Audrey grinned, slamming her bag onto the desk next to Selene's, making her jump. "I see you were off yesterday."

"Well, yes. You got me drunk." Selene sighed, massaging her temples and staring down at the mountains of work that she had been handed. "Very drunk."

Audrey grinned again, and sat down heavily. "Seems we're sharing a little office!" She said cheerily. "You can't get away from me that easily Selene!"

Then she looked down at Selene's left hand, and Selene quickly tucked it away out of sight, realising how blatant she was being much too soon. But, as another wide grin and a dramatic pulling out of her chair proved, Audrey didn't care.

"Aw, come on." She drawled. "I know already. Getting someone drunk proves as a very effective way to get information out of people."

Selene flushed pink, but Audrey didn't say anything further. "Uncle Fil is pleased with us." She continued cheerily. "Especially you. I'm amazing, and older, he knew I'd get in."

"Okay." Selene managed to find her voice, after a pause. "Okay."

* * *

The office was quiet, close to silent in fact, before lunchtime struck. When it did, Audrey looked up from her paperwork (a closer examination of the parchments told Selene all she needed to know – no work had occurred that day), stretched, and looked at the clock.

"I'll go and get us some lunch." She said, getting up from her seat with a groan. "Don't break anything."

"I won't." Selene smiled back, still a little weakly, and only relaxed when the door was safely shut behind the pushy American woman.

Nothing had happened of note. Selene checked once more, out the small window in the top of the door, before checking through the parchments assigned to Audrey.

There was nothing there as well.

She sighed, and picked up the only photo frame she had on her desk. Circumstances dictated that she couldn't have anything related to Fred or George or Harry, or even the rest of the Weasleys. So it was a picture of her godfather.

Just seeing Regulus Black's face made Selene's mind blur with a frenzy of emotions and memories long buried. Well, not as much long buried as quickly covered over.

Selene sat back down in her seat, curling her legs up to her chest and letting out a heavy sigh. Now that Audrey knew, she had to admit everything to the American. She had to let the rest of the Order know. Audrey might even have to be pulled into the mess.

Could Selene live with that?

No. It was hard enough letting Fred and George keep her in England. Dragging another person, however valuable they may be, into the Order, would just be… Wrong.

A quick glance at the desk calendar Audrey possessed. 21st October.

_2 months, four days. _

Selene sighed again, resting her head in one of her palms. There was a Hogsmede visit today. Maybe she could get off work, see Katie? Maybe Harry and the others, if they were out as well.

But trying to get off work on her first day wouldn't bode well. Selene groaned to herself, trying to close her eyes and get some rest.

_Considering that 'rest' didn't exist in George Weasley's vocabulary._

There was a scuffle outside, and Selene's head jerked up almost comically. She stood up, and walked to the door, hoping to pick up the gist of the conversation, without making herself known instantly.

_Keep a low profile._

_ Constant Vigilance._

"…Hogwarts student." Selene picked up, and immediately she straightened, straining to hear the rest. Oh, how she wished that she had some Extendable Ears on her… Not that she would _ever _tell either twin that, of course.

"Horrible." Someone else agreed.

"…Cursed-"

The last voice was cut off by a louder, angrier tone that seemed to belong to Mad-eye Moody.

Selene had hardly seen the gruff old Auror in the Ministry so far, having avoided him even more than Mr Weasley. But the last time they had passed one another – a week or so ago – he had dropped a note into her pocket.

_Keep a low profile. Constant Vigilance. Look after Nymphadora for me._

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" He barked, and Selene jumped, despite being used to Mad-Eye's constant outbreaks by now. "Good. Now, we need someone that can help Severus Snape in his examination of the cursed object-"

Without even realising it, Selene pushed open the door, hearing it slam against the wall in an almost dramatic fashion. Everyone turned to stare at her, especially Mad-Eye, whose magical and human eyes were trained on her every move.

"Me." Selene blurted. "Let me go. I have… Experience, in this kind of thing-"

"Damn right you do." Someone muttered from the back. "Murderer."

No one else voiced their opinion, but they made them widely known in yet more stares and glares. Selene could feel heat rushing to her face, and she dropped her eyes, waiting for the 'no', that she knew would follow.

"Yes."

Selene looked up again. Mad-Eye winked with his good eye, out of sight of the rest of the crowd.

"Yes, you can go." He said again, gruffly. "Come on Miss Malfoy. You need to be debriefed by the Auror department first."

As Selene brushed past the Auror, so she could go into the lift that was waiting for them, she felt a small piece of parchment drop into her robe pocket. She looked up at Mad-Eye, but received a small shake of the head as a response, causing her to bite down her questions and simply walk on forward.

Mad-Eye didn't say a word until they were safely in his office, the floor above Selene's. And even then he checked the corridor twice for any eavesdroppers.

"Sit down." He barked, once he had made sure that no one was around. His permanent frown seemed to soften somewhat, however, and he made a funny grimace. Selene did as she was asked, still somewhat in shock, and waited as Mad-Eye began to pace around the office.

"Are you okay?" She hazarded, after Mad-Eye turned the fifth time.

The grizzly Auror looked up, and nodded once, curtly, before resuming his stance. "I'm sorry." He said, after a few seconds.

"What do you mean?" Selene asked, sitting up straighter.

Mad-Eye looked up again, and wordlessly gestured to Selene's pocket. "After you've been up to Hogwarts, follow the instructions on that parchment." He explained, a little pained. "To the T. We'll take care of everything else here."

Selene could feel her blood freeze.

_No. Surely not…_

"Is it-" She began to ask, but Mad-Eye made a growling noise, and mimed zipping his lips.

"Everything you need to know is on the parchement." He growled. "Not here. The less people that know about this, the better."

Selene found herself nodding, despite her inner terror. She at least wanted to scream. But no sound came out. She just sat there, glued to the chair, eye fixed right in front of her, watching the Wanted Poster of her Aunt snarl and laugh manically.

"Don't tell Fred." She decided upon saying, after a few seconds of silence. "Or George. Anyone that doesn't need to know."

"Thought you'd say that." Mad-Eye said gruffly, pausing his pacing and clapping Selene on the shoulder. "Good luck, girl. With luck, this shouldn't take more than a few hours."

As the Auror moved to leave, Selene looked up, questioning in her eyes. "Just one thing." She asked, standing up herself. "Mad-Eye, who was attacked?"

"Katie Bell." Mad-Eye said gruffly, before turning to leave, leaving Selene in the middle of his office, eyes wide and heart beating at a rate that made it feel like it would burst clean out of her chest.

* * *

Selene apparated right to the Hogwarts gates, where Professor McGonagall was already waiting for her.

"Miss Malfoy." McGonagall said primly, before quickly correcting herself. "Selene, I mean. Thank you for the invitation, by the way."

"That's okay. How's Katie?" Selene said quickly, swallowing down her nausea.

Professor McGonagall's mouth tightened even more, and she looked Selene right in the eyes.

"They've transferred her to St. Mungo's." She explained. "You might want to know – Harry, Ron and Hermione witnessed the attack."

Selene bit her lip, eyes widening slightly.

"And Harry is accusing your brother of transferring the cursed object." McGonagall said grimly.

"Can I talk to him?" Selene blurted, not thinking, but she quickly elaborated. "My brother, I mean. And Harry. I need to see them – and Lily, I want to see her too."

"I'll try and find them." Professor McGonagall said, her voice softening. "I assume Alastor sent you?"

Selene nodded, looking up at Hogwarts, just in the distance. It still seemed a little like home, even now. But it was darker, less… lit. Whether that was intentional or simply a side-affect, she didn't know.

But it was darker.

"I hope you don't mind the walk." Professor McGonagall said, following Selene's gaze. "I can fill you in while we walk. I understand you have met Horace Slughorn, our new Potions Master?"

Selene nodded, following Professor McGonagall as she stepped through the gates. "I went to one of his dinners, last week." She explained.

"Ah." Professor McGonagall's mouth twitched. "I can see how the youngest employee of COEC would be of interest to him. He likes to collect people." She explained, seeing Selene's confused expression. "Not in a mean way, he just likes power."

They continued talking about trivial matters – the wedding preparations (which Selene had passed on to Ginny and Hermione though Owl Post, after another sleepless night), Hogwarts affairs and the Order. But, all the same, Selene could feel a strange feeling in her stomach, like a swell of feelings thatwas threatening to knock her over.

_Katie… God, Katie… I'm so sorry…_

"Professor?" Selene asked, looking up again.

"You can call me Minerva." Professor McGonagall said kindly, perhaps reading the hidden expression in Selene's face. "What is it?"

"The cursed object…" Selene trailed off, piecing the pieces together in her mind. "Was it a necklace?"

Professor McGonagall nodded, a little surprised. "Yes, yes it was, why do you ask?" She queried.

_"Don't touch anything, Draco." _

"Borgin and Burkes." Selene stated aloud. "The necklace… Prof- Minerva, I really need to speak to my brother."

"Harry said something similar." Professor McGonagall said grimly. "Yes, my dear girl. I will attempt to get Draco Malfoy for you."

"Thank you." Selene took a deep breath in. "Now. Who did I need to speak to?"

* * *

Professor Snape looked up as Selene walked in. If he was surprised, he didn't show it.

"Miss Malfoy." He drawled, peeling off one of the gloves he was wearing. "I must say, I was expecting a… Ah, more seasoned professional."

"Mad-Eye sent me, Professor." Selene said, with a grimace. "If that's okay, of course."

"I doubt you'd be able to help." Snape drawled again, with a smirk. "This is magic even beyond your level, Miss Malfoy."

"That wasn't why Mad-Eye sent me, Professor." Selene admitted, taking the still-unopened parchment out of her pocket and passing it to the Potions Master.

Snape peeled the envelope open, and read the contents with one raised eyebrow. Then, he nodded, and passed it back to Selene. "I knew Lupin would get into trouble someday." He said, pensively, but still with a touch of malice. "Good luck with surviving, Miss Malfoy."

At that moment, the door swung open dramatically, and a grinning, shorthaired redhead ran into the office, looking incensed. "Sellie!" She said, almost triumphantly. "Thank god!"

"Lily." Selene said, with a smile. "It's… Nice to see you too. Do you know how Katie is?"

Lily shrugged, her façade crumbling for a split second. But then she was grinning again, waving goodbye to Snape and pulling her cousin out of the door, leaving only a second enough for Selene to slip the parchment back in her pocket. "They kicked me out." She said cheerily. "They took a blood sample, and when I saw the needle I screamed my fucking head off!"

Selene laughed, despite herself, and let Lily tow her up dozens of stairs. "It's good to see you too." She smiled. "Have you seen-"

"I cut my hair!" Lily said, gesturing to her spiky hairdo, as if it wasn't obvious. "Alex is a git, by the way. He's in Africa. I cut my hair, and Mum went fucking apeshit! You should have been there, it was _awesome!_ Better even then the re-make of the lawnmower incident!"

Selene nodded again, unable to get a word in edgeways.

"Thanks for not making me a bridesmaid, by the way." Lily blurted. "This way I can wear this bright red suit I found on Ebay – that's a Muggle selling site, by the way. I'm doing okay on my exams, thanks for asking, but I tried to stab Snapey and he went batshit on me as well. Who are you looking for, by the way? I know loads of people-"

"Draco." Selene cut in quickly, before Lily could get a syllable further. "My brother. Do you know where he is?"

Lily frowned, turning to face her cousin almost accusatively. "Why?" She asked suspiciously. "Everyone knows he's a Death Eater now-"

"Lily, I need to see Draco." Selene cut in again. "Please."

Lily raised an eyebrow, but rolled her eyes and nodded reluctantly. "Try the Slytherin Common Room." She grinned again, for a split second. "That's where he always is."

Selene checked her watch quickly. She closed her eyes, exhaled, and then opened her eyes again.

"Thanks Lily." She said, with a slight smile. "See you at Christmas."

"See ya Sellie!" Lily yelled back. "Don't kill yourself with anything stupid!"

* * *

Draco placed his head in his hands, and tried to ignore the ghost pain in his left forearm. It wasn't his arm that was hurting; it was his heart, and his head.

Even Imperiusing Katie had felt… Horrible, and then hearing that she had got herself hurt…

Then had come the onslaught from his sister, who he hadn't even expected to see. Ever again. That day in Diagon Alley was supposed to be the last time, but three months later he saw her again. Looking sadder, more tired, and so unbelievably terrified.

He knew that what she had said to him would live with him until he died.

"_I forgive you." Selene said seriously, meeting Draco's gaze with determination. "You don't have to justify anything to me. I know what Voldemort did to make you comply."_

_ "No, you don't!" Draco exploded. "He threatened to _kill you_, Selene. You and Mum. The only two of our family that aren't proper Death Eaters."_

_ "Why do you think I left the country?" Selene answered quietly. "Draco, everything I do is to protect people. Do you know what I have to do today? I have to march into a war site, and help someone I see as a father figure. Someone that will be family, one day. I'm not even allowed to tell Fred. I'm breaking a million rules by telling you."_

Draco sighed again, looking up at the four boys sitting in front of him. Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, and Nott. His cronies, one of his sister's ex-admirers, and his sister's ex-fiancé. He wondered what would happen if he told Nott that Selene was marrying someone else, that Christmas?

Nott probably wouldn't care. He didn't have the heart. Sure, he might get angry, but that was purely because Selene had dishonoured him and his family. Most Purebloods were like that.

There was another twinge of the ghost pain in his left forearm, and Draco let out a silent groan. He badly wanted to go after his sister, make sure that she wouldn't do anything stupid or irrational, but he was stuck.

Selene was fifty miles away sitting on an overturned log, somewhere in the Lake District. Everything was silent, apart from the birds and the wind, and the quiet ripples of life on the water of the lake in front of her.

She fingered the necklace around her neck, and closed her eyes, wishing with all her might that Katie would be okay, and that no one would notice her absence.

But wishing didn't do much good.

"Thank you for arranging to meet me here." Someone said, and Selene looked up in shock.

Of all the people she expected to see, she didn't expect to see _him_. Selene tried to stand up, so she could run, but the man was too fast, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back, making Selene cry out in pain.

"Thank you." Greyback murmured into her ear, twisting her arm a bit more, making Selene's legs buckle beneath her. "I can see why they sent you, yes. You're disposable, and now you're going to die."

Selene swallowed, her eyes widening in terror when Greyback let go of her arm and grabbed her neck, squeezing it tight enough to break her neck in two. She couldn't breathe, she could feel her heart speeding up, and her head went fuzzy.

Then the pressure released, and Selene gasped, collapsing on the ground coughing and feeling blood stain her shirt from where Greyback's nails had bit into her neck. She groped for her wand blindly – the lack of oxygen had made her mind buzz and now it was hard to concentrate on anything – and grasped it like a lifeline.

"STUPEFY!" She screamed, waiting for the flash of red light to come, and then opening her blurry eyes again. Her spell seemed to have worked, Greyback was lying on his back, and his eyes were wide open in surprise.

Selene struggled to her feet, brushing her hair out of her eyes, and warily looked at Greyback's prone body. She moved to prod it with her foot, but felt and attack of coughs wrack her body again, and she doubled over, feeling sick when a single drop of blood landed on the forest floor.

Where was he? Where was Remus?

Selene looked around again, coughing into her hand, pulling her hair off her face and blinking the harsh light out of her eyes.

"Remus?" She called, walking over to the trees, skirting Greyback expertly. "Remus? Where are-"

She stopped, gasped, and ran. Remus was lying on the ground himself, looking to still be conscious, but in a bad way. Blood was covering the right side of his face, and although his eyes were open, flickering from left to right, he wasn't saying a single word.

"Remus, oh god…" Selene dropped to her knees, trying to get a better look at the gash that seemed to run along Remus's cheek, to his collarbone, and then his chest.

"Dora…"

"I'm not Dora." Selene said sadly, trying to tear a scrap of her shirt that wasn't already crimson off, recalling what Katie about preliminary healing.

_Katie…_

Selene shook those worries out of her mind, and looked back down at Remus, who was getting paler by the second. The fabric stemmed the bleeding a little, but when Selene tried to press it down Remus winced in pain.

"Don't try to sit up." Selene murmured, checking her watch.

Ten minutes past three in the afternoon.

"Dora…" Remus muttered again, trying to grab Selene's collar. "Dora…"

"It's Selene." Selene managed a weak smile, helping Remus to sit up with the hand not pressed to his cheek. "Remus, it's Selene. Not Dora."

"Selene?" Remus muttered, his eyes gaining a little more focus. Then he gripped her free hand, so hard that Selene could feel one of her bones break. "Shouldn't… Be… Here…"

Selene managed a slightly stronger smile, and bit her tongue to prevent the tears of pain leaking out. "I'm getting you out." She murmured. "Okay? Can you stand?"

Remus stood up shakily, leaning on Selene for support. He nearly fell, but he regained himself quickly, and nodded wordlessly when Selene began to move. "Why are you here?" He asked, voice rough. "I was supposed to be disposable."

Greyback's words echoed in Selene's mind, but she didn't voice them. "You're not disposable." She said, coughing again. "You… Aren't."

"I can't apparate." Remus said again, regaining his speech with every syllable. "I don't think…"

Selene was yanked backwards with a scream, and Remus grabbed his wand, but still being weak, he collapsed on the ground.

"You can't escape from me that easily, girly." Greyback snarled, ripping open the sleeve of Selene's shirt with his long fingernails, drawing blood. "We at least want the traitor."

"Let her go." Remus said menacingly, struggling to his feet again. "Take me. You said you wanted me. The traitor."

Greyback laughed, with a shake of the head. "You can go, _Lupin_." He spat. Selene tried to reach for her wand, but it was just out of her reach. "The _traitor _is this little girly here. The Dark Lord will be pleased that I've got her. And I have no doubt that little Miss Malfoy will get a special welcoming present from her aunt as well."

"Shut up." Selene gasped, shoving her elbow back, stunning Greyback long enough for her to dart away, grabbing her wand with her good hand and letting her broken hand drop down to her side.

Greyback snarled, but Selene yelled a curse – in the heat of the moment, she wasn't sure which she had used, and a second late Greyback was flying backwards into the trees, getting attacked by branches on all sides.

"Come on." Selene said to Remus, who was in shock himself at the rate at which all this had happened. She took his arm, and closed her eyes, picturing the shop in her mind's eye.

She couldn't do this. Her near-strangulation had already made her mind cloudy, and now the pain throbbing through her left arm and left hand was making her concentration wane. But then she felt Remus stumble next to her, and Selene's eyes snapped open again.

Greyback was advancing out of the woods, clothes tattered and face torn, and murder written across his features. Selene swallowed, coughed again, and then took a deep breath.

Then she apparated them both away, across half the country.

* * *

The twins left Oliver with Katie, and walked out of St. Mungo's with Alicia and Angelina.

"Do you know where Selene is?" Was the first thing Fred asked. "I haven't seen her since this morning."

"She's probably helping Snape work it all out." George cut in, before either Angelina or Alicia could answer Fred themselves. "She'll pile all the blame on herself and want to help in whatever way she can."

Fred murmured a conformation that he believed his twin, but didn't say anything aloud. He bit his lip – a gesture that did not go unnoticed by any of the other three, and nodded reluctantly.

"See ya Angel." George grinned, kissing Angelina and patting Alicia on the back, before moving into a side alley with Fred and reappearing in Diagon Alley.

There seemed to be quite a commotion. People were piling into the main Alley from all the different shops, and all heading for…

"Please say Lee hasn't blown the place up…" Fred muttered, before running.

"MOVE OUT THE WAY!" George yelled, when no one moved for them. A few people budged, but no more. Fred sighed, and went for the old 'shove and push' tactic.

"What the hell is going on?" Fred asked, when he got to the other side of the mass. He exchanged a single look with his twin, before they both barrelled towards the door of their shop as fast as they could.

Lee looked up when the entered, and sighed with relief. "Thank Godric you're here." He said thankfully, rushing over to them. "I had to get everyone out, I wasn't sure what had happened."

"What did happen?" Fred began to ask, but then he noticed the streak of blood on the floor, and his eyes widened.

His mind immediately rushed to Selene, and he ducked around the corner of those shelves. It wasn't what he had feared, but it came close.

"Fred!" Selene blurted, looking up from the man she was tending to in front of her. "I'm sorry, I couldn't go anywhere else and I had to help Remus…"

Remus looked… He looked close to dead. Selene wasn't good herself, as a good half of her shirt was stained bright red and the trail of blood seemed to be coming from her leg. But Remus was the worst, despite the frantic way that Selene was healing what wounds she could.

"Come on." Fred murmured, trying to pull Selene up by her hand, but pulling back when she nearly screamed in pain. "Fuck, what happened?"

"Broken hand." Selene gritted her teeth. "I have to help him Fred, I have to-"

"We can take him to Mum." Fred hadn't even noticed George appear, but he nodded, crouching down next to Selene, and carefully helping her up, trying to avoid her arm and her hand.

"Thanks." Fred managed a smile as George slung one of Remus's arms around his neck. "Lee, close the shop."

Lee was still confused, but he nodded, eyes wide. "Will you be okay?" He asked, looking at Selene, who was shaking, and having to lean heavily against Fred for support. "All of you."

"I'll be fine." Selene insisted, her eyes fixed on Remus. "George, please… Hurry…"

George apparated away, and Lee moved to the front door, locking it and turning the sign over. Fred sighed, and turned to face Selene.

"What happened?" He asked quietly, placing his palm on her face. "Why… What were you…"

"I'm fine." Selene lied. "Fred, I'm fine."

* * *

_Dear Tonks,_

_We have Remus. He's okay. _

_He arrived with 'Lene an hour ago. I don't know what happened, she won't tell me, but Remus is at The Burrow with Mum. _

_They're both a bit banged up. Selene's in shock, she keeps shaking, and Remus was unconscious when we saw him. _

_It'll be okay. But I think it'd be good if you went over to Mum. She'll need help._

_Fred._


	75. Chapter 74: It's Called Worrying

**I GOT THIS OUT IN A WEEK! And you have 4,600 words too! You'd better like this chapter, because the next chapter will be a LOT of work. I have a lot to cover – so many different perspectives, so many parts, and… Yeah. I want to make it awesome XD**

**Thank you to: HT118, bellatrixD, sarahmichellegellarfan1, OPTIM, dumblesbashing, Tonisa zan frella Sherlolly, HayleyGoth, Gurl5678, xSiriuslyInsanex and MaeveJuniper. **

**I hope this chapter is okay, and that the next one is all it's cracked up to be. It'll be hell to write, I know that much! I also have the poll results back. It was a four way tie, so I asked my maths table to pick between 'A, B, C or D'. They didn't trust me. And now we're all planning to play Cards Against Humanity via Skype. We all have that kind of humour. It makes my maths teacher yell at us a lot. Especially me (I talk too much).**

**Ellie xxx**

* * *

"We've spent this whole time on the run, from a lie that I told, that you closed your eyes and you chose to believe." - Bride And Groom by The Airborne Toxic Event [I am getting way too obsessed with this band. If I could copy and paste the entire lyrics to this song, I would]

* * *

Chapter 74: It's Called Worrying

"Thanks." Oliver said quietly, cupping the mug in his hands and blowing across the surface of the tea to cool it down.

Selene sighed, and took the seat across from him. "You know it'll be okay if you leave." She insisted. "Even if it is just for a few minutes."

Oliver waved his hand, evidently not bothered with anything Selene was saying to him. "No." He said quickly. "I want to be here, in case she wakes up."

Selene didn't say anything to that. Because, after all, she knew that Fred hadn't left her side when she had been attacked back in June, and Oliver was just doing the same, but for Katie.

"We're worried about you." Selene said hesitantly. "Just... We're always here, okay?"

"She won't be awake for the wedding." Fred said, later, when he and Selene were sitting in the living room of the tiny flat. "Katie won't. We have a couple of weeks, and even if she does wake up, she couldn't go."

"That's not what I'm worrying about." Selene murmured, closing her book. Then she sighed heavily, and leaned backwards, relaxing slightly when Fred threaded his fingers through her hair. "I'm worried about my brother."

By the lack of comment for a few seconds, Fred wasn't expecting this turn of events. But then he shifted slightly, and raised his eyebrows. "Okay." He exhaled. "That, _that, _I can deal with. I thought you were going to say something about how George put salt in your tea instead of sugar."

"That wasn't funny." Selene pulled a face, ignoring Fred's sniggers. "No, it really wasn't funny. Have you ever tried drinking salty tea?"

"It's not my fault that you won't drink anything with less than three spoonfuls of the stuff in it." Fred grinned. "You have quite the sweet tooth, my dear love."

"Just because you only drink coffee." Selene pushed him half-heartedly, but then smiled and dropped back to resting on his chest. "I'm worried about Oliver, as well."

"Wood's literally made of stone, you can't hurt him." Fred chuckled. "Katie's pulling through, and thanks to you Remus is recovering."

Selene sighed, thinking back on the events of the last two months. Remus had been unconscious for one of those months, and then had barely spoken for a week after that. It was only when Dora marched in, all guns blazing, and gave the Werewolf a piece of her mind, that he gave up on his silent vigil.

Selene hadn't been to see him. If she did, then she knew that he would tell everyone what had happened that day, from the problems with Greyback to her near-strangulation.

She had kept secrets from Fred before – she still had so many that she kept to herself, even now – so the lying was easier than it should have been, perhaps.

And he didn't talk about it too much. Except, it seemed, for today.

"You have to go and see him eventually." Fred sighed. "Even I've been. He's worried about you."

"I'm worried about him." Selene murmured, closing her eyes.

"Has old Mouldy been getting into your head?" Fred asked, trying to cover up the twinge of fear in his tone with humour.

Selene laughed, in an attempt to humor him, and then shook her head.

Of course, she lied.

She knew, from research conducted in the small hours of the morning, that recurring dreams that contained specific events were mostly sourced from magical intervention.

Which meant that her Occlumency barriers were getting weaker.

"Thank god." Fred laughed loudly, a welcome sound in the otherwise silent room. "I don't really want to marry some noseless freak."

"SHUT UP!" George yelled, from the room next to them. "I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!"

Selene laughed, checking Fred's watch, it being easier to access than her own, as that arm was trapped under Fred's back. "It is pretty late."

"And that is coming from the girl that staggered home piss-ass drunk a little under two months ago." Fred shook his head.

"I have work tomorrow." Selene reminded him, trying to get up, but being pulled down by Fred, who had her arm trapped in his hand. "And so do you."

"Screw work." Fred said flippantly, waving a hand. "I have two weeks until I can say that you're my pretty little wife, and I intend to make the best of those two weeks by being generally irresponsible."

"Nothing new there." Selene muttered.

"What did you say?" Fred demanded, flipping them around so his nose was centimeters from Selene's and he was pressing her into the sofa. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." Selene smiled innocently, trying to move them back to their previous position, but completely overshooting it and toppling over the side of the sofa with shriek, Fred landing on top of her not a second later.

"Yep, definitely nothing." Fred smirked, moving close enough to her so that their lips were just touching, just enough to make them tingle. "Nothing at all."

"You don't have to be responsible." Selene attempted to reason with him, moving her head to one side. "I guess."

"Nah, I'll be the cool parent." Fred grinned. "You play bad cop, I'll play good cop. You say that they can't have the new broom, and then when you get home the kids go to me and I get it for them. Easy as pie."

Selene sighed. "Before you even suggest it, no way are we having twenty kids."

"I'm on top, am I?" Fred ignored her previous comment, and smirked as Selene went bright red. "I take it that yes, I am."

"DON'T FLIRT AT ONE IN THE MORNING!" George yelled.

"THEN DON'T SHAG ANGELINA AT ONE IN THE MORNING!" Fred yelled back.

"THANK GOD YOU'RE NOT STAYING HERE AFTER YOU'RE MARRIED!"

"I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO GO TO SLEEP!"

"HELL, NO! THIS IS WAY TOO FUNNY!"

Selene laughed, shaking her head, and tried to get up from where she was lying on the floor, but it transpired that she was one million percent stuck underneath Fred, who was too absorbed in his yelling match with George to let her up.

"Um…" She said, raising her voice a little, hoping to catch Fred's attention. "Fred?"

"No, I'm not letting you up." Fred grinned mischievously. "Better try and get some sleep, hadn't you?"

"How can I sleep when you're crushing me?" Selene retorted, expertly dodging the glare that Fred attempted to send to her. "Seriously, how?"

* * *

"Come on." George sighed, tugging on Selene's sleeve. "We need to go. Otherwise we'll completely miss them altogether, and Mum will kill us."

Selene lifted her hands from where she was arranging the flowers in the vase by Katie's bed, and raised her eyebrows. "Okay." She said reluctantly, looking down at Katie's quietly breathing body in the bed below her. "Okay."

"I think Fred's already shoved your stuff in Ginny's room." George told her, as they walked. "Of course, Alicia and Angel have all the wedding crap. If you have actually gone shopping for it all, that is."

"We were waiting for Hermione and the other 'bridesmaid'." Selene grinned, making inverted commas with her fingers. She was resolutely keeping everyone bar Angelina and Alicia in the dark about the mysterious fourth 'bridesmaid' (Angelina was chief bridesmaid), which was driving George crazy.

"Just tell me who this girl is already!" He groaned.

Selene just smiled, and shook her head. "I have better things to do than tell you anything."

George pouted, but extended his arm to Selene, who took it with a slightly mocking smile. "Your carriage awaits, milady." He stated pompously.

Selene just ignored him.

"Finally!" Fred sighed, expertly detaching his twin's hand from his fiancées arm, and pushing George away. "I thought you two would never get here!"

"I was just stopping off to see Katie." Selene admitted, brushing her hair off her forehead. "I'm looking forward to seeing Harry and Lily, Hermione and Ron, Ginny and the rest of them…"

"Mum isn't." George scoffed, falling into step on the other side of Selene. "She has us, you, Lily, poor old Remus, the kids, Bill, Charlie, Fleur, Angelina and Tonks, the Delacours staying at The Burrow – god knows how we'll all fit in – and then she has about a week to sort out everything, and you haven't even sorted out whatever the heck you're wearing yet."

"You're wearing a bright lime green suit." Selene giggled, throwing her free arm around George's shoulders. "Lee's wearing a bright orange suit. I don't think anything else matters, everyone will be staring at you two."

"That's the point, I am the best looking Weasley bloke." George smirked. "I'm trying to get Bill to wear bright red. I know Charlie's agreed to wear bright purple, and Ron… Well, he's going to wear his mouldy dress robes, unless he pays me."

"Don't bully Ron." Selene pulled a face. "It's… It's mean!"

"Correction: it's-" Fred began.

"Hilarious." George finished. "Look,"

"Surely you've-"

"Annoyed your-"

"Brother before?" Fred grinned, seeing Selene's expression. "Two for the price of one darlin'."

"Yep. Definitely." George winked. "Angelina will be too, I assure you. As soon as I manage to get her to marry me, of course."

"You will be waiting a long time." Selene pointed out. "You've only been dating for… Just over seven months?"

"Yeah, but you two got engaged a year after you started dating, and now, a year later, you're getting married!" George sighed. "They said to take it slow. You two never listen. You'll have twenty kids by the time you're twenty."

"NO!" Selene nearly yelled. "No, definitely not. Nooo way. Never. _Non. Je n'ai jamais vingt enfant._"

"I have no idea what you just said!" George said happily.

Fred raised a sultry eyebrow, and slipped his hand down the back of Selene's trousers, making her eyes widen. "I don't either, but French is sexy…" He murmured.

"FINALLY!"

Fred's hand moved instantly, and George choked on his saliva as Mrs Weasley walked up to the three of them. "Where's Angelina?" She demanded, not looking to be in the best of moods. "Oh, hello Selene dear. Do you know where Angelina is?"

"Her parents…" Selene winced, remembering the slightly caffeine-hyped conversation she had participated in with the twins earlier that morning. "Her parents want to meet your parents. Tonight."

"Oh, okay, always room for a few more." Mrs Weasley waved off. "We were already going to eat in the garden – thank god that warming charms have been invented, otherwise goodness knows we'd all freeze to death – so that's… How many? One, two chairs? Where have you all been?"

"Selene went to see Katie." Fred explained, sneaking a sideways glance at his still-scarlet fiancée.

The change in Mrs Weasley's harassed expression was noticeable in seconds. "Oh, that poor girl." She positively gushed. "Her poor parents… Weren't they coming to the wedding?"

Selene shifted uncomfortably, but luckily at that moment there was a loud, piercing whistle, and everyone's attentions immediately transferred to the tracks.

It was strange, seeing the train pull into the station. Much like seeing it go away, waving students visible in the windows. Maybe it was nostalgia, or the knowledge that soon, in the not too far future, the waving parents would be her and Fred.

"You look lost in thought." Fred said, grinning as he slipped his hand into the back pocket of her jeans. "Come on. What's the matter?"

Selene thought for a moment. "That'll be us one day."

"I think you said that in September." Fred smirked, with a shake of the head. "And again last summer. And probably before that as well."

"Hmmm." Selene murmured, watching the scarlet train pull into the station. "I guess."

"You did." George sighed, shaking his head at her. "You have a really bad memory, didn't anyone ever tell you that?"

Harry was the first of the Weasley-bound students to spot her, and his face lit up in a large grin, making a beeline straight to where she was standing with the twins.

"Harry Potter!" Fred sprang forwards, his hand outstretched for Harry to shake. "How simply marvellous to see you again, dear fellow!"

"Harry!" George jumped forward too, also holding out his hand. "I do hope you have been good this term, my dear boy! Got into any scrapes?"

"Pranked anyone?" Fred cut in, with a stellar grin.

"Battled any monsters?" George added.

"Kissed any girls?" Fred waggled his eyebrows.

"Shagged anyone?" George winked.

"Sorry." Selene pushed past them both, smiling herself and hugging Harry tightly. It was slightly unnerving, especially as he was taller than her by a good two inches now. "Hey Harry."

"Hey Sellie." Harry hugged her back, before pulling away. "Looking forward to getting married!"

Before Selene could answer, Fred jumped in front of her. "But of course she is!" He declared pompously. "Marriage to me? That's anyone's-"

"Nightmare."

"BOYS!" Mrs Weasley almost screamed, making all four of them jump. "What are you doing! Harry, dear, how are you! You look a little peaky, have they been feeding you okay at Hogwarts?"

"I'm fine thank you Mrs Weasley." Harry smiled. "It's nice to see you. How are you?"

Mrs Weasley waved her hand in a dismissive motion. "Oh, you know." She laughed agitatedly. "Weddings are awfully tiring. I have to plan two at once- boys, if you see Ginny, send her to me, okay?"

"Which boy is Ginny seeing now, again?" Fred asked, once Mrs Weasley and Harry were out of earshot. "Michael Corner?"

"Dean Thomas." Selene corrected, remembering the contents of Ginny's last letter. "He's a nice guy, remember him from the DA?"

"I don't like him." Both twins said simultaneously.

Selene giggled, before almost being knocked over by a brown haired bombshell that came rattling towards them through the crowd at dozens of miles an hour. "Thank god!" Hermione squealed. "I was so worried!"

"I'm fine Hermione." Selene managed a weak smile. "I'm completely-"

"HERMIONE!" Fred bellowed, repeating the ordeal by jumping up to Hermione and pumping her hand up and down as well. "Great to see you-"

"Spiffing-"

"Which one of you is Fred?" Hermione cut in, before they could get any further.

Fred and George took one long look at one another, before sighing and standing up a little taller. "My dear Hermione." Fred said, as regally as he could. "I am George."

"And I am Fred." George said, in a similar tone.

Selene bit back laughter as Hermione rounded on George, rather than the actual Fred. "If you make me wear yellow…" She trailed off, with a menacing glare. "Frederick Weasley, I will make sure you never have children."

"Actually I'm George." Fred corrected Hermione. "He's George, I'm Fred. I'm George, actually, that random guy standing next to me is called Stewart, dunno who he is, he just walked into the store one day and we decided to keep him, didn't we George?"

"Please say you know what they're on about." Hermione pleaded, turning to Selene.

"I have no idea."

"I spot Ginny!" George called, pointing over a few people's heads. "And… That is not appropriate social interaction for a young woman of her age!"

"She's snogging Dean, isn't she." Hermione sighed. "Ron's got a girlfriend too."

"FINE-ally!" Fred grinned. "Ron pulled that stick out of his arse and asked you, didn't he?"

"He's dating Lavender Brown." Hermione grimaced, although she didn't say anything of Fred's comment. "Remember her from the DA? Long brown hair, always giggling, reeks of perfume-"

"I don't like her." The twins chorused again, sharing identical smirks.

* * *

"Selene." Remus said, leaning heavily against the doorframe, looking at Selene through heavy, clouded eyes. "It's good to see you."

"You too." Selene managed a smile, although she felt sick inside. "Um… How are you feeling? After… After what happened, I mean."

"I've been better." Remus admitted, with a humourless smile. "You look good, for someone that went through what you did. I assume that Fred and George have no idea?"

"That's the way it's going to stay." Selene sighed, taking a seat on the sofa in The Burrow's living room. "You haven't told anyone else."

Remus laughed, shaking his head. "You're good at reading people." He moved to sit next to Selene, and reached out an awkward, trembling hand to pat Selene's shoulder gingerly. "I think that's why Sirius loved you so much."

Selene exhaled sharply, and Remus's hand jerked back, as if touched by fire. But then she shrugged it off, and managed a weak smile of her own. "I though this conversation would involve a lot more yelling."

"Trust me, I want to yell at you." Remus's mouth twisted into a grimace. "But you're an adult, and nearly a married adult, and whatever you do is up to you. I have no say in the matter."

"Can I at least ask you something?" Selene asked suddenly, looking up from her hands.

"Ask away."

"What do you feel towards Dora?" Selene asked carefully, not looking away from Remus's eyes. "Because, Remus, she's in love with you, and-"

"I'm dangerous." Remus suddenly growled, springing up from his seat and beginning to pace up and down the room. "Dora is young too, she doesn't know what she's doing, getting involved with someone like me… I can't let that happen to her."

Selene sighed, dropping her gaze once more, and twisting her hands together, moving her ring around and around her finger. "Here I am." She let out, after a silence. "Here I am, giving up my… My entire family. Remus, please… What would- what would James and Lily think?"

"Don't you _dare _mention them!" Remus snapped, making Selene jump. "You don't know what it's like, to be scarred and damaged beyond recognition. You don't _know._"

Selene didn't say a single word. Her hands stilled, and she ran her fingers over the writing in the back of her left hand. "If you say so." She forced out, a little colder than she had imagined it in her head.

"You're so much like Lily.' Remus laughed, almost derisively. "Minus that temper, of course. Smart, resourceful, clever… She would have tried to change my mind too, do you know? Harry would as well, I wager, if he had even an inkling of what was happening. I didn't want to be saved, Selene! Especially not by… You! A girl that has everything to live for. I don't want to see anyone die in this war, but at the rate you're going you'll be one of the first to go. So, for god's sake, just… Just…"

"I'd rather die than see my friends die." Selene said quietly, standing up herself. "You have to live every second Remus. Don't waste your life waiting for something to happen."

"What will happen though?" Remus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're too kind sometimes Selene. Remember what I told you though. Please don't go looking for death."

"I have no plans to." Selene raised her voice a little, wiping her eyes.

* * *

The crowd out in the garden – protected by Warming Charms that Selene and Hermione had cast – was significantly larger than it ever had been. That was mainly down to the fact that, in addition to the wedding party; they had Angelina's parents over along with Andromeda and Ted.

Ted had strategically placed himself between Fred and Selene, and Mr Johnson deliberately sat between Angelina and George, for what must have been the same reasons. Mrs Johnson took the seat on Selene's left, recognising her from the Graduation Ceremony.

"You must be Selene then." She said, with a large smile. "Angie talks about you all the time. Weren't you the girl that keeps falling over?"

Selene flushed furiously red, but nodded, taking Mrs Johnson's hand. "Its' nice to meet you Mrs Johnson."

"Oh, none of that!" Mrs Johnson waved a hand. "Call me Liz! Short for Elizabeth, you know. Not the nicest name in the world. Now, tell me, which one of these lovely boys is your fiancé?"

Fred leaned straight across Ted (the man in question muttering under his breath), and took Liz's hand. "That'd be me." He grinned. "Liz! You don't remember me, do you?"

"You and your twin brother trashed my flowerbed when you were twelve." Liz sighed, a glimmer of a smile visible. "Are you Fred or George? I could never forget you two and the pink goo problems."

"That's Fred." Selene cut in, before Fred could say a word. "The one sitting next to Mrs- Molly is George."

"I'm not going to ask how you tell them apart." Liz said delicately. "I expect I don't want to know."

It took Selene a few seconds to work out what Liz was saying, but then she quickly shook her head. "No, nothing like that." She said, with a funny little laugh. "Fred's got more freckles."

"But the question, my dear, is _where._" Liz winked, turning Selene an even darker shade of red.

"I'm Edward Tonks." Ted butted in, leaning across Selene this time, to shake Liz's hand. "Filling in as father of the bride. Uncle of the bride, to be exact."

"Ah, it's always hard, isn't it?" Liz's face fell slightly. "I used to hope that Angie never got older, but seeing her at her age, so happy, I think it's better if I let her go."

"Hmmm." Ted murmured to himself, with a slightly dreamy nod. "I guess so."

* * *

For once, Selene was happy to go shopping. It was clear that Harry had no idea what he was doing with her, Angelina, Hermione and Ginny. But he happily tagged along all the same, but not without some protests as they went into every single shop they came across.

"Hen night." Angelina grinned, dangling a bottle of champagne in one hand. "Oh, and look at these! Do you reckon their old Aunt Muriel would die if I showed up wearing 80's plastic jewelry?"

Hermione forced everyone into a Muggle bookshop, and spent ages discussing reference books about something called 'Physics' with Selene, who was intrigued.

"It's all about how our World works." Hermione explained, opening the book to the front pages, and a diagram of a pulley system. "Even the Wizarding World is subjected to the Rules of Physics, but we can bend them slightly. Like with the Levitation Charm, that defies gravity. It's very interesting!"

Ginny giggled, snapping a book tight shut and immediately walking over to the slightly hassled-looking shopkeeper, who looked about Charlie's age. "Hey." She said seductively, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Can I have this book please?"

The shopkeeper positively drooled at Ginny as he nodded vacantly staring into her eyes. He didn't pay attention to the amount of money that Ginny gave him in the slightest (which was significantly less than the book was worth), and scribbled a few numbers down on the back of her reciept.

"Call me…" He said dreamily.

"You're dating Dean Thomas!" Angelina said, outraged, as they all left, Hermione carrying a bulging bag full of books. "That was smooth!"

"I know." Ginny laughed lightly. Then she turned to Harry, who had looked uncomfortable throughout this entire exchange, and smiled. "You okay Harry?"

"I'm wondering what I am doing here." He sighed.

"Oh, didn't you know?" Hermione said, exchanging a secret glance with Selene. "Harry – you're the fifth bridesmaid!"

Harry choked on his breath, and tripped over a crack in the pavement. "I'm what?" He asked hoarsely. "Selene – you said you were _joking!_"

"I have blackmail material on you." Angelina cut in. "Well, Alicia does. She has lots. A whole three pages in her Little Black Book are dedicated to you. So… If you don't want the entirely of Hogwarts knowing what you do every Saturday morning, then you'd better be a bridesmaid."

Harry shot a dirty look at Selene, who simply smiled back. "Okay." He said, reluctantly. "But, I swear, if you even so much as _think _of putting me in a dress, then I _will _kill you."

"Too bad." Ginny smirked. "We're going to get dresses now, Harold. You're going to be a pretty little girly for us, now, okay? Just so we don't attract attention."

"Not that the colour of the dresses won't draw attention." Hermione sighed.

Harry's eye widened as he was wrestled into a side-alley, and was attacked on all sides by four girls. His hair was pulled into position, Selene cast a Glamour Charm on him, and Ginny forcefully wrestled the jumper Harry was wearing off of him.

When they emerged again, there were five girls. Four of them were all looking rather smug, but the fifth looked mutinous.

The fifth girl had unruly black hair, round glasses, a scar on her forehead, and…

Harry blanched. Was this was what having _breasts _felt like?

"Much more affective than Polyjuice Potion." Hermione praised. "Now, come on, we have dresses to buy!"

"I swear, I will kill you." Harry/Harriet growled, his/her voice coming out a lot higher than normal. "I will kill you all. I'll feed you to the gnomes in the garden…"

* * *

Selene crossed her legs on top of one another, grabbing the slip of parchment she had abandoned to one side and reading through the vows again, running a hand through her loose hair as she did, biting her lip at every slightly cheesy word.

She and Fred had decided to write their own vows, like many Wizarding couples did, and it proved to be harder than she could ever have envisioned.

"Selene dear?" Mrs Weasley called, through the house. "Could you come down and help Ginny with the cake please?"

One of the hardest things about the days leading up to the wedding was the fact that Selene wasn't supposed to help. At all. Luckily Mrs Weasley always seemed to forget this little fact, and was always calling Selene down – help with the cake, the decorations, the charms, the tent… Everything.

"Coming!" Selene called back, abandoning the paper to one side, and sidestepping one of the arrays of mattresses (that, by the mountains of books, seemed to belong to Hermione), and opening the door, walking down the stairs and expertly avoiding the rude mirror, who had already screamed at her once that morning.

"Oh, hello again." Ginny said, with a grin. "The bride's helping! God forbid! You're doing more that Fleur is, anyway."

Selene laughed, looking around for the cake, and seeing nothing. "Where is it?" She asked, in confusion.

"Oh, Bill sorted it hours ago." Ginny laughed too, with a shake of the head. "Mum just forgot. You okay with everything? Not too scared, or terrified."

"I'm terrified that Mrs Weasley will snap and murder everyone." Selene said, only half-joking. "But otherwise, I'm fine."

"I'm looking forward to becoming an aunt at sixteen." Ginny admitted, with a wink. "Fred's looking for that anyway. I heard him discussing it with Bill and Charlie last night."

"I'm not… Going to think about that." Selene blushed. "Do you need any more help, or are you okay?"

"Go and finish writing you speech." Ginny shrugged. "I'm okay. Mum will probably want me to go and wash the chickens soon."

"But of course the chickens need to be clean too." Selene joked. "They're a part of the family!"

"I'm looking forward to getting a sister." Ginny cut in. "Okay? Being an aunt is awesome, but I've always wanted a proper _sister."_

"Me too." Selene admitted, with a smile of her own. "I think I found the right guy, in all respects."

"I hope at least Malfoy comes to the wedding tomorrow." Ginny continued quietly. "If not your mother. You definitely need your close family, especially when you're surrounded by Weasleys on all sides."

* * *

Selene picked up the photograph album, and heard a small noise as something fell on the floor. An envelope.

She turned in over in her hands, after she had picked it up, and read the cursive Pureblood script with a lump in her throat. Then Selene placed it on top of her 'speech', and walked out of the door.


	76. Chapter 75: Shenanigans

**You'd better all breathe a huge sigh of relief because this monster chapter is being broken down a little into two. A little 2000 word one to keep you on your toes, and then a huge one afterward. 5840 words right now.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! I got loads in the interim last time but I still miss the old haul I used to get. Thanks to OPTIM, bellatrixD (who is kinda my unofficial beta), EverchangingWords, HT118, xSiriusly Insanex, sarahmichellegellarfan1, Beatrice Chahine, and Melody Sarindipadie (x4, sorry I haven't replied to your last review).**

**Yep. After that frankly disgusting plea I have a few words of apology. 1, that this isn't THE WEDDING. I swear, of any of you kill me then the next chapter will never appear.**

**2, the next chapter will be long. At least 6000 words. I plan to get it up by… Thursday? It's half term, thank god. But if I get ten reviews (yep, I'm doing this, I'm sorry but my week has been shit and you can deal with it) then it'll be up earlier.**

**Anyway. Enjoy this little titbit. Look over to bellatrixD if you want someone to thank. If I had my way then it would all be in one monstrous chapter…**

**PLEASE REVIEW, EAT CAKE AND BE HAPPPPYYYY!**

* * *

"Her soul's somewhere in Mexico." - I'm In Love With A Sociopath by I Hate Kate

* * *

Chapter 75: Shenanigans

It started to snow.

Selene sighed, looking down at her book that she was using as a ploy to wish away the remaining hours before Angelina, Alicia and god knows who else whisked her away to get her drunk.

Christmas Eve. Two years ago, Selene was avoiding Cho by hiding out in the library. Three years ago, she was sitting under a tree in the grounds of Malfoy Manor. Four years ago, she was handing Draco her Christmas present – a slightly lumpy jumper that she had knitted with magic. Five years ago… Six… Seven… Eight… Nine years…

And now here she was. About to get married, in the morning. Her dress was hanging behind the door, George had shifted her stuff to god knows where (the twins and Lee had arranged everything), and she was sitting on the windowsill, watching the snowfall, covering the grass with white.

Selene slipped a bookmark between the pages of her book, and leaned against the window, closing her eyes. This time tomorrow she would be married. She would have a sister, five brothers, and a husband. It made her smile to think of it.

"Sometimes wishing does work." She murmured to herself.

She curled her knees up closer to her body, and leaned her head against the window, angling the book so she could see better with the conjoined light of both the moon and the lamps in the room.

_He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. _

"Hey." Selene looked up suddenly, and watched as Angelina walked in, staggering slightly on very high heels. "What are you doing? We're about to go!"

"I was just reading." Selene held up the book limply, and bit back a grin as Angelina staggered over to her. "What have you been doing?"

"Getting ready." Angelina pulled a disapproving face (or what must have been one in her mind, as it looked more like a dreamy smile), and pulled Selene to her feet. "Like the shoes? I brought them last week, remember? In the sales?"

"Yes, I remember." Selene smiled as Angelina moved over to the cupboard. "Where is everyone?"

"Already getting off their faces." Angelina grinned. "Whoever knew Cho Chang was such a party animal? I left her snogging the face off some random Muggle guy."

"Thanks." Selene said dryly, catching the clothes that Angelina threw her. "Because that's what I really want, everyone getting drunk."

"I bet you five Galleons that George is already drunk." Angelina smirked. "He just can't keep himself off the good stuff- Ah! Yes, okay. Here we have your clothes. Go put them on. No protests please."

Selene could only see bright orange. And sparkles. "Okay." She summarised, with a heavy sigh. "You might want to get a camera. I'm never going to do anything like this again."

Angelina giggled as Selene walked away, and said: "That's what you say now."

* * *

"Shee's here!" Alicia giggled, throwing one precarious arm around Selene, dangling her beer bottle in the other hand.

"Yay!" Cho looked up from where she was drinking what looked suspiciously like Tequila. "Sel! You're heeeree! I was wondering when they were going to… Hiccup!"

Selene sighed inwardly - and mentally noted to never let _anyone_ get drunk again, but let herself be towed towards the bar, where Angelina flung up on hand. "Two cocktails please!' She called loudly.

"I've only had Firewhiskey before, are you sure that this is a good idea?" Selene said quickly, and under her breath, so that only Angelina could hear. "And why exactly are we here?"

"Right." Angelina lowered her voice too, and adopted a mischievous smile that was so reminiscent of George that Selene had to blink. "We're going to get everyone really drunk, and then we're going back to my place and playing Muggle party games."

Selene raised one eyebrow, but was forced away from further comment by the arrival of their cocktails.

"3… 2… 1…" Angelina grinned, before tipping the liquid death down her throat, and Selene gingerly did the same.

Immediately, everything gained a fuzzy edge. But, unlike before, Selene didn't straight away go for more. Just feeling pleasantly… floaty was enough, especially as Alicia was currently trying to chat up a man twice her age.

"SELLIE!"

Selene's eyes widened, and she turned to Angelina urgently. "We're screwed." She explained, as Ginny Weasley tottered towards them.

"Ishn't thish great?" Ginny slurred, a dazed smile on her face. "The ligshsts are so… Sparkly…"

"What?" Angelina asked, her eyes glinting. "It's a hen night Selene, let the bridesmaids have their fun."

Thankfully Gabrielle wasn't there, but Hermione was standing in the corner, looking very lost. When Angelina finally let go of her arm, Selene went straight over to look lost with her.

"Sorry about this." Selene apologised quickly. "I shouldn't have let them plan the party at all, especially as… Mrs Weasley is going to kill me."

"I told Ginny not to come!" Hermione added. "But she ignored me! We can just say that she insisted on coming…?"

"Maybe." Selene bit her lip, and closed her eyes momentarily as she watched the shambles of the room. "Bloody hell, Fleur looks green…" She trailed off.

The French quarter-Veela was hanging over a rubbish bin, surrounded by her admirers: a barmaid, two cleaners and a fifty year-old man. Alicia was patting her back amiably in a way that made Selene choke (Alicia hated Fleur on no uncertain terms).

"That's because she's French!" Angelina cut in, giggling wildly, and passing Selene another cocktail. "Get that down you! It's your hen night, you _have _to get drunk."

Selene eyed the substance gingerly, but Hermione hid a smile behind her hand and nodded encouragingly, and so Selene gulped it down.

The blurriness increased tenfold. Selene staggered to one side slightly, before looking up to Angelina with wide eyes. "Who are you?" She said innocently, before giggling. "I'm so funny!"

"I know!' Angelina giggled too, passing Selene a beer. "Drink this too!"

_In retrospect, _Hermione thought, watching her friend drink even more, _encouraging her was in no way a good thing._

* * *

"Ginevra." Angelina giggled, hiccupping slightly. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." Ginny said, swigging a bit more champagne.

"Oooh!" Everyone chorused. Fleur fell backwards, getting attacked by a fit of the giggles, bringing Alicia down with her. The two writhed on the ground for a second, before Hermione (who was the only one remotely close to being sober) pulled them back up again.

"I… Dare… You… To…" Angelina looked around dramatically, before giggling wickedly and looking directly at Ginny. "Wear only your underwear for this round!"

"That's lame." Selene complained, throwing an abandoned pair of knickers (long story) at Angelina, who ducked a little too late and got them sliding down her face.

"You had to kiss me!" Lily giggled. "COUSINCEST!"

"I KNOW!" Selene giggled. "It's really weird…"

Ginny sat back down again, wearing only a lacy black bra and matching pants, and grabbed the empty beer bottle from Angelina. "LILY!" She exclaimed delightedly. "Truth or Dare!"

"Truth." Lily grinned, chugging the champagne. "Darsh asrs boorish."

"Right." Hermione silently groaned, and hid her head in her hand. "This is a disaster…"

"Who did you first date?" Selene cut in quickly, ignoring Ginny's scream of protest. "I mean, like…" She hiccupped, and collapsed into giggles. "Yeah."

"Daphne Greengrass." Lily giggled, swigging the rest of the champagne. "Thirdsh yeash."

"Right, that's enough of that." Hermione said, wrestling the bottle from Lily. "For all of you, in fact. You're all really, really drunk."

"I know!" Angelina laughed loudly, for once not joined by Selene, who was vomiting into the bin. "It's really funny!"

Hermione looked around at the abandoned, paint-covered Twister mat, the almost-destroyed pillows, and finally the giggling girls. Then she shook her head. "No, it's not." She said, standing up. "Selene, you're getting married tomorrow!"

"Today!" Fleur cut in loudly. "_C'est…_"

"You're like a radiant moon…" Alicia began to drone. "A beautiful sun…"

"Please, not poetry…" Hermione facepalmed, watching as Cho began to stumble through to the kitchen, evidently to get more beer. "No… God, my ears are already aching…"

"So are you…" Fleur swooned. "I LOVE YOU!"

"I LOVE YOU TOO!"

Hermione gave up on trying to control them, and instead grabbed a camera from the table, taking a few pictures of Fleur and Alicia, who were now engaging in a heated snogging session, and then turning to Selene, who was talking to Angelina very seriously about how 'Nargles were actually just pink fluffy Unicorns in disguise'.

They came out very well, in the end. Perfect for blackmail.

Then Cho tottered back through, dangling a can of Guinness from her left hand. "A gottle of geer!" She giggled, falling over backwards onto Selene and Angelina, pushing the sofa over.

Hermione put the camera down, and steeled her courage.

"RIGHT!" She almost screamed. "To bed! All of you!"

"Aw…" There was a groan in unison.

"No argument!" Hermione said sternly. "A glass of hangover-resistance Potion for all of you, and then off to bed! Sharpish!"

* * *

Selene felt normal, in the morning. Except there was a nagging sensation at the back of her mind, like she had just been through a war and then her mind had been wiped of the entire event.

She yawned and stretched, poking someone in the eye.

The poke-ee screamed, throwing her arms open, and toppling off the bed, bringing Selene down too. There was a loud thump, and two other people fell onto her, making Selene yell an incredibly inappropriate word.

"What the…?" Angelina yawned, trying to sit up, but then realising that Cho was lying on her chest. "HELL?"

"What happened?" Ginny slurred, her eyes blurry, blinking the sleep out of them. "Why are we all on the floor? Selene, why are you in my face?"

Selene went pink and hastily tried to move away, but getting tangled up in Lily, who was still sleeping soundly. "LILY!" She yelled, startling the redhead awake. "What are you doing?"

"I was sleeping." Lily said, slightly annoyed. "Why are we on the floor?"

"You all got quite incredibly drunk." An unseen voice explained. "I'm glad I didn't go, to be honest."

"Dora, help me up, will you?" Selene said, still pink. "I… I think Angelina might have broken my back."

"How can I have broken it when I'm lying _next _to you." Angelina groaned, throwing her head back. "God this is humiliating."

"Not as bad as yesterday." Another voice came, and everyone unanimously sighed. "I have pictures, if anyone would like to see them."

"NO!" Ginny spoke for all of them, being helped up by Tonks. "I think we're okay without it Hermione. Gosh, what time is it?"

"Selene is a good alarm clock." Tonks smirked, helping the aforementioned girl up. "It's a little past eight in the morning. But I guess her being a good alarm clock is hardly surprising, considering that she's getting married in… Erm, four hours, is it?"

Selene managed a smile (her head was still faintly blurry, and she could tell that Hermione was having to hold her up). "Do you have any headache Potions Hermione?" She asked quietly. "It feels like I'm about to explode."

"I told you not to get her drunk." Tonks snickered, throwing her arm around her cousin. "Looing forward to getting married, my dear girl?"

"I will be, once my headache has gone…" Selene said, in a small voice, leaning against Tonks again. "Angelina, I swear to god, I am never drinking again."

"According to George, that's what you said last time." Angelina smirked, with a knowing nod. "So, considering that this is the _second time_, the third time will be exactly like this, and the fourth time, and the fifth, and every other time after that."

"I dread to think what you would have been like if I hadn't force-fed you all Anti-Hangover Potion." Hermione sighed, giggling when she saw Alicia and Fleur untangling the blanket from each other.

"_Quel est le problem?" _Fleur snapped, her Veela side coming into full force. "I am fine!"

"Yeah, what… She said." Alicia said absent-mindedly, throwing the sheet back on the bed. "Hey – wait a second, how come this bed is a double?"

Angelina just giggled, and opened the bedroom door. "I think I'm awake enough to make waffles." She grinned. "Who's coming?"

Everyone held up a hand, or, in the case of Selene, nodded wearily, as she was still drinking the headache Potion Hermione had produced from the depths of Angelina and Alicia's cupboards.


	77. Chapter 76: Coming Home

**Right. Here we are. An 8000 word chapter. I didn't get ten reviews but hey as I'm nice. Thanks to Melody Sarinpadie, OPTIA, bellatrixD, HT118, dumblesbashing, tayluhm94 and xSirusly Insanex, and also to Guest from last chapter.**

**Especially to bellatrixD who helped me write the more... mature stuff.**

**The wedding song is… (drumroll please…),**

**THIS IS LONDON BY THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT! As you can see, I'm pretty happy about that. I love their songs. Listen to them. Also, I made myself a Twitter on Sunday night, so PM me if you want to know my inane, insane ramblings. I don't blame you if you don't want to. Same with my Instagram.**

**Right. I hope this is up to par. I tried my hardest to make it awesome. Please give me all the feedback you can. If you don't want to review, then PM. I just really want to know whether I can write this kind of stuff. Especially as it is a bit... pushing this T rating at the end.**

* * *

"This is London, it's a place where you can get lost without a trace." - This Is London by The Airborne Toxic Event

* * *

Chapter 76: Coming Home

They made it to The Burrow at a reasonable time (nine o'clock, due to Fleur's ministrations and Alicia's impatience), Selene finally having been woken out of her stupor with coffee and waffles.

"You look as white as a sheet." Dora said, with a slight quirk of the mouth. "You're anxious, I take it?"

Selene nodded, not trusting her mouth to say anything. She felt as pale as she looked – sure, she had been waiting for this day since September, but that didn't mean that the worries were eating her up from the inside out. It had to be natural. What happened if her father turned up? Oh, she knew that Fred's Auntie Muriel would eat her out; from the stories she had been told. And then there were the masses of people already arriving – Selene was able to pick out the faces of Minerva McGonagall, Lyall Lupin and Remus, and even Dean Thomas (who had been sent an invite the second he began to date Ginny).

"You'll be fine." Dora looked almost happy, although her hair was still a dull brown colour. "Okay? Gosh, is that Mad-Eye? He said he wasn't going to come!"

Selene smiled as she caught the eye of the Auror, who gave her a curt nod in return, just as Selene, along with Angelina, Alicia, Hermione and Ginny, entered The Burrow.

"Oh, my girl." Mrs Weasley was on her instant, smothering her in a huge hug. "You needn't be worried dear. You'll be fine. Did you have a good time last night?"

Ginny silently tried to edge her way around her mother, but Mrs Weasley caught her a fraction too early for any escape attempt to be possible.

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY!" Mrs Weasley screamed, making the whole house rattle. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU? YOU'RE NOT EVEN OF AGE!"

Ginny grimaced, but leaned against the doorframe, resigning herself to her fate of a shouting mother for what seemed like the next few hours. But, thankfully, Mr Weasley came to the rescue.

"Come on love." He said lovingly, laying a hand on Mrs Weasley's shoulder. "I've got the boys sorting out the seating, you go and help the girls."

Then he turned to Selene, gave her a brilliant smile, and hugged her too, albeit a little more awkwardly. "Good to see you dear." He said, with a clumsy pat on the face. He dropped his voice, and leaned a little closer. "Thanks for letting me wear the rubber duck suit, I haven't had a chance for years."

"No problem Mr Weasley." Selene smiled; feeling a little less worried.

"You have to call us Arthur and Molly now." Molly said, dabbing at her eyes slightly (Ginny had disappeared upstairs by now, making the most of her mother's distraction). "Now, come on! We only have three hours!"

"Because that is _such _a tragedy." Alicia muttered, as they were led up the stairs by a teary Molly. "Three hours is _nothing, nothing _at all."

Selene hid a laugh behind her hand, and accepted the clumsy smile Alicia sent her. Fleur looked extremely put out at Alicia's statement, and she was just opening her mouth to speak when a door opened, fro the top floor of the house, and all the girls dropped deadly silent.

"Yes, I get it." Lee was saying. "You're all hung-over. God, okay. Just… Okay."

"We had Hermione, they didn't." Angelina quipped, making Hermione flush and wave the compliment off with one hand. "Nah, 'Mione. We would have all died if it wasn't for you."

"Don't call me 'Mione." Hermione said, but she was still looking very pleased.

"Come on, in here, all of you!" Mrs Weasley called out to them, in a voice still thick with emotion. She hugged Selene on the way into Fred and George's old room, which had been cleared off all it's junk and exchanged with tables and mirrors. In other words, it reminded Selene greatly of the dormitories back at Beauxbatons. By her delighted squeal, it reminded Fleur of them as well.

But it was only the woman sitting on the bed closest to the window that caught Selene's full attention. Andromeda stood up with the same grace that she had learnt as a young woman, and hugged the life out of Selene (it seemed to be flavour of the week, hugs).

"I'm filling in as mother of the bride." She said quietly, so only Selene could hear. "I hope you don't mind too much."

"Thanks Aunty." Selene murmured back, closing her eyes a second before Andromeda let go. "Has Uncle Ted gone nutty yet?"

"It's a funny thing." Andromeda said fondly, patting Selene on the shoulder. "He was crying last night. Something about 'his baby girl growing up'."

Selene swallowed down the slightly hysterical sob that emerged from her throat, and threw her arms around her aunt again.

"Thank you." She said thickly.

"We love you Selene." Andromeda wiped her eyes, resting her hands on Selene's shoulders and looking down at her lovingly. "Okay? Got that?"

"We do too." Selene turned to see Mrs Weasley with blurry eyes. "You're a proper Weasley already, dear."

"And we're your best friends." Angelina gestured to Alicia, with a determined grin. "Along with Katie, of course. Stop crying you wet blanket. You'll have to be tough to survive the Terrible Twins."

"Kaboom." Ginny chimed in.

Mrs Weasley choked a laugh. "Come on then!" She said authoritively. "We'll have to get a move on if you'll all be ready in time for midday!"

"We'll be fine Mum." Ginny rolled her eyes. "You're just stressing."

"I'm allowed to, my son is finally getting married to the perfect girl!" Mrs Weasley sobbed, before throwing her apron up to her eyes and rushing out of the room.

* * *

"I feel like shit…" George moaned, clutching his head. "Oliver, you feel like shit too, don't you?"

"Unlike you, I can take my alcohol." Oliver chuckled, earning him a glare from Charlie, George and Fred, who were currently the only three Weasleys in there.

Bill and Ron had unfortunately not been able to escape from 'wedding duties', and were currently running around in the freezing cold with Remus and Tonks, casting Warming Charms and ushering people to their seats.

"I still maintain that last night was great." Fred muttered, not sitting up from where he was lying on the floor. "I wish Lee would hurry up with the Hangover Potion… Stuff."

Oliver checked out of the window. "I think he's been coerced into helping Bill and Ron." He chuckled.

"Great." George groaned again. "Oliver, be a babe and go get the Hangover Potions for us."

"Be a babe?" Oliver shook his head sadly. "You really do need those Potions, don't you? Okay. But only because I think your mother will kill us if you don't get better soon."

But no sooner had Oliver made to leave, the door swung open, and Mr Weasley strode in, smiling slightly as he looked at his three hungover sons. "Come on." He said kindly. "Drink up, before your mother finds out you drunk yourself into a worse stupor than your little sister."

"Ginny?" Fred, George and Charlie all said abruptly, Fred sitting up.

"Ginny somehow got herself drunk last night." Mr Weasley said blithely. "At least I assume so. They arrived about ten minutes ago."

"I need to have a serious talk with her." George said seriously, taking the Potion and downing it in one, feeling instantly better. "She's not even of age!"

"Thankfully Hermione saved them all." Mr Weasley continued, with another little smile. "Right. You worried son?"

Fred looked up from where he was handing Oliver the empty mug, and wordlessly nodded, managing to inject a little sarcasm into the gesture. "What do you think?" He said, with a shrug. "I'm about to get bloody _married._"

"And I get to wear my rubber duck suit!" Mr Weasley said, incensed.

"It matches." George sniggered, Ginny forgotten. "Everything does. Did you wonder why we chose such garish colours for the theme?"

"Now it sounds like _you're _getting married." Fred pouted, a little childishly. "You just wait Georgie. You. Just. Wait. It feels like my brain is trying escape out of my mouth."

"You'll be fine." Mr Weasley said, sitting down on the floor next to Fred. "I didn't sleep at all before I married your Mum. It was all fine afterwards though. Selene was as white as sheet this morning. I don't think having the breath squeezed out of her my Molly helped much either."

Fred snickered. "She got the Weasley hugs then?" He asked, tapping his knee. "You sure I'm not allowed to go and see her?"

"NO!" George shouted, making everyone jump. "You simply can't! It'll ruin _everything!_"

"Your Mum's a traditionalist." Mr Weasley patted his son's shoulder. "It's only three hours."

"Yep. The longest three hours of my life."

"That's really sweet, little brother." Charlie smirked, ruffling Fred's hair. "Are you always like this?"

Before Fred could answer, Oliver jumped in. "Yes, he really is."

Mr Weasley gamely ignored the gestures sent by Fred to his brothers and Oliver, for once.

* * *

"You look lovely." Selene assured Mrs Weasley. "That dress fits you really well."

"Does it really?" Mrs Weasley clarified anxiously, turning around once, to get a better look at herself. "Arthur brought it for me when I had just married him, I wasn't sure if it would still fit me."

"It looks fine." Selene insisted, smiling a little. "You needn't worry Mr- Molly."

Mrs Weasley smiled, and reached up a hand to pat Selene clumsily on the shoulder. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" She laughed awkwardly, still keeping a close eye on her appearance.

The door opened, and everyone looked up. Harry turned red, and self-consciously stepped into the room. "Hi." He said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. Selene noticed that he caught Ginny's gaze for half a second, before turning pink and looking away.

"Harry dear!" Mrs Weasley cooed, walking forwards and enveloping Harry in a furious hug, much like she had done to Selene. "How are you? Don't let the girls bully you too much, goodness knows I would have stopped them making you a bridesmaid if I had known in advance-"

"It's fine Mrs Weasley." Harry lied through his teeth, making Hermione giggle. "I would do anything for Selene today."

"Except wear a dress." Alicia muttered.

"I'll be back soon!" Mrs Weasley said, once she had fully let Harry loose. "I just need to make sure that the boys aren't blowing this place up or anything."

As Mrs Weasley left, Andromeda looked up from where she was styling Ginny's hair and smiled. "Hello Harry." She said politely, a hint of hilarity in her tone. "How are you?"

"I'm very good thank you Mrs Tonks." Harry lied again, with a pointed glance at Selene, who giggled and tugged at the zip of Hermione's dress. "How are… You all?"

"Hermione saved our lives last night." Angelina grinned, patting the girl on the shoulder. "A word to the wise: only get drunk if you have a certain Hermione Jean Granger around to assist you."

Selene finally finished zipping up the dress, and looked over at Harry, who gestured to the door with an unreadable expression.

"You look terrified." Harry said bluntly, once they were out in the corridor. "Paler than normal, at the very least."

"That's what everyone's been telling me." Selene managed a smile. "I feel terrified."

"You'll be fine." Harry protested. "I mean, Fred loves you and, if you ask me, I think you should have got married this summer. And you'll have me making a fool of myself behind you, after all."

Selene laughed, and nodded, brushing a hand through her hair with a sigh. "I guess I need to thank you for that." She admitted. "And… Well, not just that. Everything. For accepting me, back then, to not letting me wallow in self-misery, and… For being the little brother I'm not technically related to."

"I looked it up." Harry grinned. "How does 'fourth cousins twice removed' sound to you?"

"You're my little brother no matter what Harry." Selene said, slightly tearfully. "Okay? Fourth cousins or not."

"It's mad." Harry smiled, also a little tearful, but he determinedly brushed them away. "I always wanted a big sister when I was little. I guess I got my wish."

"I love you." Selene brushed her tears away too, and stepped forward to hug Harry. "Sirius is so proud of you."

"Who are you two then?" A sharp voice cut in, and Selene jumped about ten feet into the air. The speaker seemed to be an elderly woman, that looked to be around eighty or ninety years of age. "You're not Weasleys, whoever you are."

Selene regained her manners first, and held her hand out to the woman. "Oh, I'm Selene." She greeted, waiting a few seconds before giving up on the friendly gesture ever being returned.

"Oh, the bride." The old woman said, with an air of having something indescribably putrid under her long nose. "The one that's marrying one of my delinquent nephews. Which one is it again?"

_Muriel. _Selene thought grimly to herself. "Fred."

"Oh, no, not that one." Muriel pulled a disgusted face. "That one put a whoopee cushion – disgusting Muggle trick – under my chair once at lunchtime. Simply can't bear the thought of farting since. You're much too pale." She added, after a second's pause. "And your eyes are too small for your face."

Selene was taken aback, but before she said anything else, Muriel turned to Harry. "You need no introduction, of course. Ronald said that you two were friends – doesn't mean that I believed him, but still."

Then the elderly witch was stumping off back down the corridor, grumbling something under her breath about being two hundred and six years old.

* * *

"There you go." Andromeda said softly, pulling away from Selene and resting her hands on the younger girls' shoulders. "I would say something about how beautiful you look but I know that you've heard it almost too much before."

Selene laughed, looking up at her aunt and loosely hugging her, for fear that she might dislodge the hairdo that Andromeda had insisted she wear. "Thanks." She said gratefully, blinking a few times at her reflection in the mirror.

She could hardly see herself at all. The girl in the mirror looked graceful, beautiful, almost streamlined in the way she was presented. If it wasn't for the obnoxiously coloured dress (obnoxious colours were a necessity), then there probably would have been the standard wedding remarks about the bride shimmering in the air.

"I wish you hadn't chosen to wear purple." Mrs Weasley said wistfully. "Not that you aren't beautiful, but white weddings are so… Traditional."

Nothing about the entirety of the wedding could be called 'traditional'. Dumbledore was going to be conducting the whole ceremony, rather than the standard guy from the Ministry. Selene had no doubt that probably at least Lee was still hungover, and, as for the chosen colour combination of orange, purple and an electric blue, it was sure to drive several people into insanity.

"You do look lovely." Andromeda said, with a little smile. "Fred's going to love it."

Selene swallowed down another huge bout of nerves, and nodded slowly. "Okay." She smiled. "I'm okay."

* * *

"I swear to god, I hate suits." George griped, adjusting his bowtie - bowties were cool - again. "Even pink suits."

"If Fred had anything to do with it, he would be getting married in jeans and a t-shirt." Charlie grinned, looking sideways at the subject of his joke. "Fred? You okay?"

"Fucking terrified." Fred said, tapping out an anxious rhythm on the table in front of him. "What's worse, I can't even ask any of you guys for help, as I'm the first to go through this entire situation!"

"We'll all come to you for advice instead mate." George grinned, patting his twin on the arm. "Come on. You look like McGonagall's just given you a week of detention."

"He's going through the terror phase, huh?" Ted grinned and rolled his eyes. "I need to have a serious talk with the groom here so…"

Fred stood up reluctantly. "Okay." He closed his eyes and exhaled. "We can go outside."

"Not outside outside." Ted cut in sharply. "Geez, you wouldn't believe how cold it is out there! And I'm a Weatherman, I should have known this cold snap was going to happen!"

The door shut behind the pair of them, and Ted turned to Fred, looking deadly serious. "You're about to marry my niece in, ah," He checked his watch. "Half an hour."

"I know." Fred smiled. Then his smile reversed as he realised what Ted was going on about. "Ah, yes, okay. I promise I won't blow anything up."

Ted cracked a little smile, but it seemed that he wasn't really on about that. He clapped Fred's shoulder a little harshly, but nodded all the same. "Be careful with her." He grimaced. "And if you ever hurt her, I will make you _pay_."

"Don't worry." Fred replied, deadly serious himself. "I would never hurt Selene. Ever."

"Good." Ted's expression was lighter now, like a weight had been taken off of his shoulders. "The thing with girls like her Fred, you can't ever let them go."

* * *

Andromeda checked her watch, and smiled shakily. "It's time." She said, standing up and checking Selene once more, up and down. "You look beautiful, my love."

Selene smiled back, giving her aunt one last hug, before Andromeda disappeared out of the doorway and down the stairs. Ginny was the first to actively respond, rolling her eyes and walking over to her soon to become sister-in-law, giving her a hug.

"I'm finally getting a sister." She grinned. "Come on. Come and meet your red-haired fate. Twenty kids and sixty grandchildren."

Selene laughed, and shook her head. "I'm not having twenty kids!" She said, for the umpteenth time. "_Ever._"

"They'll all have red hair." Angelina pretended to faint. "Oh, the horror! The horror! The Weasley Twins mark II! Professor McGonagall will have a conniption!"

"It's time." Hermione said, looking at the clock on the dresser. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Luckily it seemed like the Warming Charms were working correctly, and so Selene didn't feel cold as she stepped out into the snow. There was a faint breeze though, and Selene looked sideways at Angelinam, who smiled at her encouragingly.

This was it.

In fifteen minutes, she would be Selene Narcissa Weasley. The hand on the clock would have a surname engraved onto it. She would be a married woman.

And she could be sure that everything would be okay.

"You look beautiful." Ted said, giving Selene a bright smile as he met them at the entrance to the tent. "You really do."

"I love you." Selene smiled, giving him a hug, which Ted returned clumsily.

"I love you too." Ted smiled. "I'm not going to cry though. Hagrid's already got his handkerchief out, and Molly started sobbing two minutes ago."

"Selene's been crying too." Harry smirked, getting his own back for the violently yellow dress he had been forced into. "Didn't stop for ten minutes, didn't you _Sellie?"_

"Very funny." Selene stated. "Really, really funny. You should go into the business."

"I think I'll leave that to Fred and George." Harry poked his tongue out. "What's the betting she'll cry again?"

"_Harry._" Hermione said disapprovingly, shaking her head. "You're too young to be betting, honestly!"

"Five Sickles, you're on." Ted whispered, dropping the money into Harry's palm.

"Ten Sickles!" Ginny piped up, seconds before Ted linked arms with Selene.

"Now, remember." Ted muttered, so only Selene could ask. "When you see the whites of their eyes, you can smile."

Selene looked at her Uncle quizzically, extremely confused. "What do you mean?" She asked, in an undertone.

"It's pure nonsense." Ted smirked. "Not a thing to it. Just ignore everyone else staring at you. You'll be fine."

"I feel like an idiot." Harry muttered, catching a glimpse of the masses of people inside the tent. "I'm wearing a _dress_. In front of half the Wizarding World."

"Is there really that many people?" Selene closed her eyes, letting Hermione quickly adjust her hair for her. "Great. That's the last time I let Molly plan a wedding, let alone my own."

Ted gave her a glance, and patted her shoulder clumsily, before taking a deep breath in, and leading Selene through the entrance of the tent.

And, with a click of the fingers, her nerves were completely gone. Why had she been nervous to begin with? Selene couldn't recall. Somewhere, in the corners of her eyes, people were standing up, and Hagrid had just let out a trumpet-like sneeze.

But Selene was only concerned with trying to force down her blush, as she looked dead at Fred, who was staring at her with open eyes. George smiled to himself – his twin was completely wrapped up with the girl walking down the aisle towards him.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, as Selene looked at Ted, who nodded reassuringly at her.

Selene looked back up at Fred, who was grinning, his hands in his pockets of his bright orange suit (which suited him impeccably, she was forced to admit), and she couldn't help but smile back.

It almost felt like everything that they had been through over the two years had been leading up to this.

"You're beautiful." Fred smiled, as Selene stopped. Ted gave him a warning look, but it softened immediately, and patted Fred's arm in an almost friendly fashion.

"You scrub up well." George smirked. "Knew there was actually a girl underneath all those books."

A laugh reverberated around the tent, and George smiled knowingly, winking at Angelina quickly. Fred grabbed Selene's hand, gave her a blinding smile, and together the two of them turned to face Albus Dumbledore, who's eyes were still twinkling.

"Ladies and Gentleman." He said, raising his arms. "We are here to celebrate the union of Frederick Gideon and Selene Narcissa…"

Selene glanced sideways at Harry, who was sitting next to Ted, and smiled when he gave her a thumbs up. Hermione was dabbing at her eyes already, but managed a small grin through her tears, just as Hagrid sneezed, making the whole tent shake.

"Sorry." Hagrid said, slightly sheepishly. Everyone laughed, and Minerva, who was sitting next to him, patted his hand with a slight smile.

"Right." Fred said, when Dumbledore waited expectantly. He searched through his pockets a few times, and then looked up at his twin, who shrugged. "George?"

"Thought it was gnome food mate." George smirked, earning a light whack from Angelina. "Kidding, kidding. Here you go."

Fred took the crumpled sheet of parchment from George, opened it out, and looked down at the words. "Okay." He grinned. "Selene. Basically… I love you. That's all you need to know. That's all anyone needs to know. And you're mad enough to marry a mad man like me. And I can annoy you for the rest of eternity now."

Molly began to sob into her husband's shoulder. Selene bit her lip, blinking a few tears out of her eyes. She looked up again, however, and felt Fred squeeze her hand gently.

"I love you too." She exhaled, wiping her eyes. "You changed my life, Fred. If you had never chosen to love the girl that sat next to your brother in Defense Against the Dark Arts, then… I don't know where I would be. Thank you."

Fred ran a hand through his hair, and looked at his brothers, who were all grinning. Ginny gave Fred a tearful wave, her head resting on Charlie's shoulder.

"You two are disgusting." George shook his head.

"Save it George." Fred waved off, earning more laughter, but Selene just turned around and threw her arms around the other twin.

"Thank you." She whispered into his ear.

"You won't be thanking me later." George replied mischievously, but he still smiled. "Thank you too Cheesecake. Take care of Freddie for me."

Selene turned back around; composing herself in those few seconds, and watched as Fred slid the ring onto her hand. "With this ring, I, erm… Something." He chuckled.

"With this ring I do Something." Selene rolled her eyes as she did the same. "Or just simply annoy you for the rest of eternity."

Dumbledore chuckled, and waved his wand a few times above their heads. "I proclaim you wizard and wife." He said, wiping his eyes himself. Andromeda sobbed loudly, copying Molly, and Ted determinedly wiped his eyes again. Hagrid blew his nose loudly. "You may kiss the bride."

"Will I heck." Fred smirked, spinning Selene around once – just fast enough to make her feel dizzy – and then pressed his lips to hers.

Selene wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to seal this moment in her mind for the rest of her life. The moment when she became a Weasley. The moment that she got married to the man she loved. The moment she knew that, yes, her life would not be made up of the moments she had craved as child.

Empty ones.

George wolf-whistled, and Selene wasn't sure how long she had been kissing Fred, _her husband, _but she hastily moved away slightly, her face flushed up.

"Way to ruin a moment." Fred grumbled. There was a huge explosion, that shook the tent even worse than Hagrid's sneezes had done. Everyone rushed outside to see what was happening, exhaling when they saw, simply, a huge array of sparking, multicoloured fireworks, in magnificently clashing colours.

"Good job Lee!" Fred called, giving his friend a double thumbs up. Lee bowed in response, with a wink to Selene.

"I love you Sellie." Ted muttered gruffly. "I expect your first child to be named Edward, after me, okay?"

"Whatever you say." Selene said, equally thickly. "Thank you for giving me away."

"I know Sirius would have wanted me to." Ted said, pushing Selene away gently when he saw Molly and Arthur approaching from the opposite direction. "Now go on. Go greet your new in-laws."

"Oh gosh!" Molly sobbed, engulfing Selene in yet another smothering hug - maybe the fifth or sixth of the day. "I never thought this day would come!"

"Well it did, didn't it Mum?" Fred cut in, with a huge grin. Molly attacked him too, who was crying about 'her little boy growing up' and 'her first daughter-in-law'. "Ooh, er, Hagrid, you'd better watch out-"

Hagrid looked up in alarm from where he was about to sit on a chair, a couple of seconds before there was a huge crash and he went toppling to the ground with a loud thud, the three-legged chair spinning off, nearly hitting Filius on the nose.

"FREDERICK GIDEON WEASLEY!" Molly yelled, half-wanting to go over to Hagrid and help him, and wanting to yell at her son. "WHAT DID I SAY-"

"Love you too Mum." Fred cut her off with a hug. "It's just a harmless prank, inducting Mrs Weasley into the family-"

Molly sobbed again, squeezing Fred so hard that his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "My little boy's all grown up!" She gushed.

"Welcome to the family dear." Mr Weasley said kindly, side-stepping his wife and adjusting his rubber duck robes proudly.

"My baby cousin's growing up!" Dora grinned, giving Selene a huge hug. "I'm sure I had a better quip lined up, but somehow it got lost when Hagrid fell off that chair."

"At least one of us isn't going to survive the zombie apocalypse." Lily smirked. "You'll be too wrapped up in saving 'oh Freddie! No!'! That'll leave me to carry on the family line."

After what seemed like hours of hugs, well wishing's and sobbing, Selene was thrown out of the bunch, on the arm of Fred, who grinned at her.

"George'll be filming it all." He warned. "Every time you make a toss of yourself, it'll be documented for generations to come. Think carefully."

They paused, and Fred fiddled with his bowtie. "Why do we have to do this?" Selene said, biting her lip.

"Why, tradition!" Fred exclaimed, pompously. "Would you be so kind as to dance with me, Mrs Weasley?"

"I'd love to." Selene coloured, composing herself quickly as the crowd clapped, and Fred gingerly tried to remember where to place his hands, especially as Professor McGonagall was watching him very intently indeed.

"I almost wish I'd paid attention in that dance class McGonagall gave us." Fred muttered, as the music started up. "But then Ron had to dance with her and… Well, it all spiralled downward from there."

"I don't mind." Selene smiled, as they awkwardly began to move.

"And that's why I love you." Fred smiled back at her. "And why I married you, of course. Tell me, what is it like, being the new 'Mrs Weasley'?"

"Amazing." Selene admitted, as Fred spun her around. "It's… Amazing."

Fred grinned, and moved Selene closer to him, trying to make their awkward dancing more fluid. "I love you so much." He said. "And I think this is amazing too. As amazing as you will be later."

Selene flushed – Fred laughed.

"The war will be fine." Fred insisted, even though Selene had said nothing to that affect. "What's death going to do? Kill me?"

Selene laughed as well, then spinning around once again. "I'm not worried about that anymore." She smiled. "I have you."

"Forever."

* * *

"Pray silence for the best man!" George called, amplifying his voice with the _Sonorous _Charm, so he could be better heard. The din died down immediately, and George stood up, with a sly sideways look at Selene. "Thank you."

"For gods sake, _don't _do anything weird." Angelina muttered, resting her head in her hands.

"Of course I wouldn't Angel." George grinned, running a hand through his hair. "Right, where was I? Ah, yes." He turned towards Fred and Selene, the latter looking slightly scared and the former smirking with panache. "We are here to celebrate the wedding of my twin brother and one of my best friends. But, of course, unless any of you recently had a memory Charm performed on you, you would know that already."

He paused for the laughter, and then nodded solemnly, almost regally. "I know that Selene had been terrified that I would do something silly, like tell everyone how incredibly stupid she acts in reaction to high places. And she's right to be afraid. Because, ladies and gentleman, only a select few of you are aware of how the newly weds on my right met."

Selene's eyes widened, and she exhaled slowly. George caught this, and smirked even wider. "Our story starts on a warm September morning." He began, his eyes glinting. "My- our, sixth year at Hogwarts. And our current Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher; who we believed to be Mad-Eye," George gestured to the Auror, who grunted. "But, who was, in fact, an escaped Death Eater. Oh, Harry can tell you all about that." He added, with another smirk. "He was actually there, doing all the action-y… Stuff."

"Way to draw attention to me." Harry groaned under his breath, exhaling when everyone looked at him.

"But, anyway." George grinned. "As Selene was showing me the correct intonation used for various Charms and hexes, and beating my arse off in the process, my dear twin brother was having a spot of trouble with his head. Specifically the part of his head that didn't turn him into a git of enormous proportions."

George shifted slightly, and adjusted his bowtie again. "The happily married couple, I understand, really could do without me bringing everything that happened to make this day their wedding day, but they can live with it." He grinned at Selene. "So. My twin brother and my new sister-in-law met, quite by chance, in the middle of the Entrance Hall in Hogwarts…"

"Please, George, no…" Selene said audibly, gathering up a laugh.

"And my dear twin insulted her." George continued, completely ignoring Selene's plea. "Right out of the blue. Well, not completely off the wall, we had a discussion previously about how his current girlfriend was slightly clingy – sorry Angel – and how he hated girls in general, especially 'rich girls'. Selene ticked that box so… She got it in the neck."

"What was surprising is that Selene retaliated. Quite admirably, I must admit. Nothing much happened, apart from a few exchanges of comments that related to breast size and ego size-" Fred coughed over the latter half of this phrase. "And then it was go time for them. Two hormonal teenagers, alive with sexual tension and boredom? Not a good thing. To cut a long story short, it got them both detention."

George grinned around at the crowd. "I'm going to skip a lot here, as it was all the same as before. But thank god that Hermione Jean Granger has a head."

Hermione blushed, and hid her head in her hands.

"Drawing attention to my git brother's stupid problem with one of the most lovely people I have ever had the fortune to meet, she set off a series of events that would lead to a cold February day in 1994. Selene decided to go for a swim."

"She went and rescued the lovely little Gabrielle Delacour-" Gabrielle had no qualms about beaming around at everyone, basking in the attention. "And then my twin gave up on the stupid amount of sexual tension; yes, more of it, and kissed lovely Sellie."

"Me, along with some other people-" Selene corrected his grammar under her breath. "Found them snogging in a corridor a few days afterward. Needless to say, that was the beginning of it all."

It took George nearly ten minutes to recite the entire life story of Fred and Selene's relationship, and when he was finished, many people were staring incredulously, and an equal amount of people were in stiches. Selene was hiding her head in Fred's shoulder, torn between crying and screaming at George, whereas Fred was patting Selene's shoulder comfortingly, seeing a little more of the funny side.

"But anyway." George continued. "That's enough embarrassment. Selene?" He called over to her, holding up his glass. He waited until Selene had looked up, and then grinned. "You're a great friend. And I know you'll be an amazing sister, to all of us. You've shown more aptitude to deal with my stupid twin than anyone else I have met, apart from maybe me. So…" He exhaled, and mimed a hi-five. "Yep. Have fun with Freddie."

George winked at Selene, turning her scarlet, before turning to Fred. "Look after Sellie." He grinned.

Fred saluted in return, and George turned to the rest of his siblings. "Right." He rubbed his hands together in thinly veiled glee. "What was next?"

Ted coughed, and stood up. "I think I'm entitled to give a speech." He said, a little sternly, but with a hint of humour in his tone. George bowed, and sat down again, crossing one leg over the other.

"My speech is in two halves." Ted admitted, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not a big talker. Probably all that I'm qualified to say is that sun is expected tomorrow. And a bit more snow. But the truth is, I started out with two beautiful daughters. And now I have three."

He turned to Selene, and sighed. "Selene. I still maintain that you are young, but I know that Fred loves you as much as you love him. He'll look after you, he'll keep you… He'll keep you safe. I know I made a fuss about you even dating someone, but I know more than anyone what love can do. So… I love you Selene."

Selene stood up as well, and threw her arms around Ted, swallowing heavily. "I love you too." She said quietly, wiping her eyes with the tips of her fingers.

"I know Sellie." Ted smiled gruffly, patting her on the back. Then, as she sat down, he turned back to the front. "Right. That's my part over. What most of you won't know; is that I shouldn't be up here, giving this speech. The recently liberated criminal, Sirius Orion Black, was the first choice for Selene."

There was an uneasy tremor among the people that didn't know Sirius, and Harry silently closed his eyes.

"Sirius was Selene's god-uncle." Ted explained, leaning against the table, and taking a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket. "And I understand that, in the year that they knew each other, they became as close as father and daughter. So, naturally, when Sirius was murdered, Selene was… Understandably unsettled. But here-" Ted waved the paper around a bit, and Selene's eyes widened in understanding. "I have the speech Sirius wrote for this wedding."

"_I'm not a big speech writer," _Ted read out. "_But I would do anything for Selene, if she asked me to. You know I'm a big shot, and bloody handsome to boot, so I've never been blessed with any children."_

_ "Until Selene. I met her in Hogwarts Hospital Wing – she's bloody clumsy, that girl – after a suit of armour fell on her. She fell into my life like… I dunno really. I was going to say 'a snowflake' but that's too sissy for a man of my calibre. And she refuses to go. I must admit, I have problems with her marrying anyone, let alone marrying anyone at eighteen, but Fred seems okay. Oh god, did I really just say that?"_

_ "Well. The third paragraph of this speech and my hand is getting tired. Anyway. Selene reminds me a lot of my dear friend Lily Evans Potter."_

Harry looked up again, and Selene blinked.

_"The resemblance between the two is non-existent in facial features, but in character they are uncanny. Apart from the blessing that Selene hasn't been given Lily's temper. But they're both smart, kind, lovely, caring, and would do anything for those they love."_

_ "And I guess the circumstances in her relationship with Fred is similar to James and Lily too. Two soul mates, acting like idiots before they realise that 'oh. We love each other' except that the latter transgression took a matter of weeks, rather than years."_

_ "What I'm trying to say is… I love you Selene. You remind me of one of my best friends, and I know you two would have got on like a house on fire. But that's not why I love you. That's not why I love you and Harry like a son and daughter."_

_ "Maybe one day you two will understand, when you have kids - you and Fred, I mean – what it's like to spend years locked away and find instant bonds with people. Except, much like you two, it will happen in seconds, not hours."_

_ "I love you. Never forget that 'Leney."_

There was silence.

"_P.S." _Ted added unexpectedly. "_I'm so sorry I won't be here for the wedding 'Leney. I can't imagine what it's been like for you over the last few months. I won't pretend to not understand, but it's been a while for me. The Death Eaters are coming for me. And… Yep. Hopefully I will see you again before I… Well… Anyway. Just remember me 'Leney. Look after Harry. And name your first –born after me."_

* * *

"Dancing." Molly cut in, before anything else could occur, clapping her hands to start up the music again.

"May I have this dance, Selene?" George greeted Fred and Selene with a grin. "Just one Freddie. Don't look so threatened."

"That would be lovely." Selene replied graciously, biting back a slightly sarcastic retort in response to the question, and settling for 'future comebacks'.

"I wasn't worried." Fred retorted for her, looking slightly annoyed. "She's _married now._"

George just ignored him, and led Selene out onto the dance floor. "You know." He said intelligently, with a smile. "It has been exactly two years since I first danced with you."

"I didn't think then that the 25th of December 1996 would be my wedding day." Selene joked. "Have I improved?"

"Amazingly." George pretended to wipe sweat off of his forehead. "You reckon I get the privilege of being the namesake of your first kid?"

"I'm not thinking about that." Selene laughed. "I've only just got married George. My thoughts are full of… _Things_."

George smirked, and shrugged. "I know Mum is." He admitted, sneaking a sideways glance to the subject of his speech. "She wants grandkids before she hits sixty."

"She'll get them." Selene said, thinking of Fleur and Bill, who were all over each other, now that Mrs Weasley couldn't persuade Bill out of his engagement.

"I wouldn't rule out the Weasley Twins Mark II." George snickered. "Seeing as, last night, all Fred could talk about was-"

"Yep, okay." Selene went pink, and nodded, slowly. "I know."

"He's been sexually frustrated for two entire years Sellie." George grinned, steering them around Minerva and Filius. "Give him a few weeks."

They stopped abruptly, and George drew Selene over to the corner, just within earshot of Muriel, who was grumbling, like could be predicted.

"Ron?" George called over his little brother. "I think you owe the beautiful bride here a dance." He continued innocently.

Ron's ears tinted red, and he muttered something under his breath. "Why?" He said, just loud enough for all three of them to hear.

"You're way taller than her." George smirked. "I want to get a few laughs in at Sellie dear's expense."

"You've already done that." Ron said quickly, mystified. "What's the importance of doing it ag-"

"Very nice Ron, now go and dance!" George cut in, waving a hand dismissively. He turned to Selene for a split second, afforded her a grin of immense proportions, before walking off, presumably in search of Angelina.

* * *

"I have something to show you." Fred murmured, later that night, just as Charlie and Hagrid began to sing rude versions of 'Puff the Magic Dragon'.

Selene looked up in surprise, but Fred just winked, and passed her his jacket as they walked out into the snow. No one noticed them go – apart from maybe Lily, who just grinned and continued to try and convince Hermione to drink some more Firewhiskey.

"What is it?" She began to ask, but Fred grinned and pressed a finger to her lips.

"If you're not careful then I might have to gag you." Fred winked again, before grasping her hand and apparating him and Selene away.

For once, Selene landed somewhat gracefully, but then she tripped over, only being caught by the tips of Fred's fingers. "Sorry." She gasped, pulling his jacket further around her shoulders, and looking around. "Where are we?"

"Not far from Whitby, I think." Fred smirked at Selene's confused expression. "In fact, this cliff is where I proposed to you. This time last year. Well, a year and an hour and two minutes after. And this isn't the actually that cliff. It's two hundred metres of a walk in _that _direction. "

"Why are we here?" Selene queried, before having a hand held over her mouth, and Fred motioned for her to turn around.

"Blame Sirius." He exhaled. "I think he had everything lined up. Speech, and now…"

"Did I mention how much I hate you sometimes?" Selene asked innocently, as Fred moved his hand away from her mouth and traced her face with a finger.

"You just did." Fred smirked. "You okay, Mrs Weasley?"

"I feel amazing, Mr Weasley." Selene laughed. "What about you?"

"I'm looking forward to spending my life with you." Fred grinned, before picking Selene up quickly, making her shriek. "Oh, and of course, finally getting to shag you."

Selene wasn't sure what to say for a bit, but when she finally was placed on the ground again, and her lips found Fred's, and her dress slipped off her shoulders, she was beyond words.

"I think I might end up fucking you right here in the hallway if you're not careful." Fred growled, moving his lips to Selene's neck and coaxing a moan from her lips. "We couldn't have that now could we?"

"I don't think I care." Selene bit her lip as Fred began to slip his hands around her and pull down the zip at the back of her dress. "Oh..."

His hands grazed her skin almost teasingly, and Fred looked up from where he was kissing her collarbone to smirk as Selene took a sharp breath in. "Hush now." He grinned, moving back to her lips and expertly guiding his hands to her hips."

Every kiss made Selene feel like she was on fire. It was eating her from the inside out. He tasted like vanilla, and his hair felt like silk as she tangled her hands through it, letting her body curl around Fred's as he carried her up the stairs. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and the desire coursing through her veins was almost painful.

"You're mine." Fred gasped, when he finally let them breathe. "Selene Narcissa Weasley."

His fingers finally managed to pull down the zip on the back of her dress, but before he could pull it off completely Selene splayed a palm on front of his chest, pushing him away long enough to regain her breath.

"I love you." She smiled, her fingers shaking a little as she fumbled with the buttons of his shirt.

"We'll go slowly, okay?" Fred smoothed her hair back, his palm lingering on her face. "For once I know more than you."

"Trust you to make this a competition." Selene sighed.

Fred raised an eyebrow and slowly lifted the sleeve of her dress off of her shoulder. "Think of it as a lesson." He smirked, kissing the blush from her cheeks. "Sexual education."

"I hate you." Selene murmured, as Fred teased his kisses down her throat, pausing where skin ended and dress began. "I really do."

"Enough to scream?" Fred pulled the other sleeve down, guiding Selene's hand to undo his first button. "Because, frankly my dear, the sounds coming from your mouth right now are going straight down."

"Not to your ego?" Selene gasped, Fred teasing the fabric off her body with his nose.

Fred chuckled - a sound that made Selene shudder - and shook his head, pushing Selene back. It was just like all the other times, apart from the desperate way they were pressed against each other like they were oxygen to each other.

"My ego is down there." Fred murmured into Selene's neck. "You never thought to ask."


	78. Chapter 77: Psychedelic

**FIRSTLY OH MY GOD OH GEEZ I AM ON NEARLY 600 REVIEWS THANKS TO THE LOVELY ALI THE RETRIEVER DO OH GOD WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW I MEAN THINK ABOUT IT AT CHRISTMAS I WAS ON ABOUT 400 AND TWO MONTHS LATER I AM 9 AWAY FROM 600!**

**Ahem. Anyway. That aside (really, thank you all), I have thank yous to say. I'm sorry if you didn't get a PM reply but I have been really stupidly busy with GCSEs and stuff so… Yeah. Thank you to ali the retriever (x a stupid amount XD), sarahmichellegellarfan1 (x2!), xSiriusly Insanex, Melody Sarindipadie, Maiannaise, Something like me, HT118, bellatrixD and MyLawyersMadeMeChangeMyName.**

**The Guest review! Yes! 1) Am I going to kill Fred or George? Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it? And what's my Instagram? I'm consulting lasagne (with a dot where the space is). No problem!**

**I'm going straight into calling this Part 4, considering that everything is changing. After all, we have a married couple now (I was so tempted to put 'aboard the TARDIS just then but oh well). Please enjoy, please PLEASE review, and I will hopefully be screaming at you about reaching 600 reviews at the beginning of next chapter.**

**Thank you to bellatrixD for again being an unofficial beta who just read the first 1500 words or so through for me.**

**A little shameless self-promotion: I have some other stories up that I would love feedback on. If you like Big Bang Theory or Doctor Who then I have a crossover called The Sofa Theorem that you might like. And, I have a Marauders Era story called Guardian Angel.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Edited on 6th April 2015**

_Part 4: Desperately_

_"When the world gets too heavy, put it on my back." - Always by Panic! At The Disco_

Chapter 77: Psychedelic 

Life was calm.

Ever since Selene woke up that morning, in the arms of her husband – it gave her a thrill to even think those words – her head resting on Fred's chest and her body burning, she knew that it would _all be okay._

The War was far away from them. Everything had been thought of. The shop was closed until the New Year, but there was a direct Floo connection for when it re-opened. Her books were already laid out in the living room (Fred had complained about losing feeling in his arms after shifting _Hogwarts: A History_), the walls of the hall were bright orange, and the kitchen was, thankfully, clear of smoke.

It was the little things that made their new life _theirs. _The almost hypnotic splashes of paint on the carpets that looked deliberate. The photos of them, George, Angelina, the photograph taken on the shop steps, photos of Harry and Ron and Hermione, the entire Weasley family, Remus and Sirius, just Sirius, Andromeda and Ted and Dora and Lily, Cho and Fleur, all hung up on the walls.

Fred refused to let Selene do anything for a day, until he ignited the lasagne. Then it was agreed that absence from the kitchen would be a very good thing.

"Psychedelic," George commented, when he 'popped around for a cup of tea', looking at the swirly carpet in the main bedroom. "How do you sleep in here?"

"We don't," Fred smirked, passing his twin a cup of tea. "Why waste ten hours? No, there are much more interesting things to do with our time."

"That's _disgusting_," George remarked. "I must warn Ginny of the dangers of getting married young. This should put her off marriage for life."

"Um…" Selene trailed off, entering the room at that moment. "George? I think Ginny's more likely to, er, _want to_ get married at a young age if you tell her that."

"How's my favourite sister-in-law then?" George smirked. "Apart from happy, because you, my dear, are literally beaming. And that is something you've never done before."

"Well, that's because she's married to me, isn't she?" Fred grinned, wrapping his arm around Selene's shoulders, kissing her deeply. "That would be enough to make old Mad-Eye grin."

"Mum's been crying," George explained, as they walked down the stairs. "I think it's a bit of a shock, you getting married. At all."

"She does know we're coming over tomorrow night, doesn't she?" Selene asked, a little worried. "Is Molly okay?"

George pinched Selene's cheek, and nodded. "She's completely fine," he smirked. "Just out of interest, will I be an Uncle before I reach twenty?"

"Not right now," Selene admitted, and then the tranquil mood evaporated. The cloud hung over them again.

George broke the silence. "The Order hasn't met yet," he began. "Everything that's going on is on a 'need-to-know' basis. Things are happening, and none of it is good."

After a quick move to the living room, they all sat on the sofa, Fred brushing a pile of books out of the way. They slid to the ground with a solemn thud.

"On Boxing Day," George continued, taking Selene's hand. She grasped it back, before linking her fingers on her other hand with Fred's. "Percy came home."

Fred sat up a little straighter. "He didn't," he said stoically. "Please tell me he didn't."

"No," George said coldly. "He brought the Minister with him."

Selene swore under her breath, and Fred gripped her hand tighter.

"Scrimgeour wants Harry to be his poster boy," George explained, giving Selene a reassuring nod. "Harry said no, of course, and Scrimgeour wasn't happy. He went to get Percy and leave, but then he noticed the clock."

Selene's stomach dropped. There it was. The proof that life couldn't stay as it was anymore. She didn't have to listen to George to know what happened next. Her life blew apart at the seams. Mr Weasley defended her (how much more could she owe the Weasleys?), and George punched Percy in the nose.

"You can't go to the Ministry," George said seriously. "It's too dangerous. And I don't think it would be good if we went anywhere near there as well Gred."

"Shit," Fred murmured, closing his eyes. "Why can't life just stay _fucking simple_?"

"It'll get better," Selene said hollowly, imagining the still-unopened letter on her desk. "I'm sure Filius will be able to get me a job somewhere if I explain."

"You can help us again?" George offered. "Look, 'Lene, I know how much the job meant to you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay Georgie," Selene smiled, giving George a hug. "How's Angelina?"

There was more silence. Before Selene could guess anything though, George sighed. "She…" he trailed off. "She found about the Order. And Oliver did too."

"They didn't-" Fred began, punching the sofa. "You're not seriously telling me that they joined the Order, did they?"

"They're all over age," By the sounds of it, George wasn't pleased either. "Angie ignored me when I tried to get her out of it, and… Well, we're not talking."

"And Katie?" Selene said hesitantly, almost scared of what the answer would be. "How is she?"

George let himself smile. "She's gradually getting better," he exhaled, patting Selene's head. "Finally. I talked to the Healer in charge of her ward, they said that she can be released a few weeks after she wakes up."

"I wouldn't blame her if she doesn't want to," Fred said wryly. "How's Remus? He hasn't gone back to the Werewolves, I take it."

"Mum won't let him," George grinned. "Remus is inside twenty four seven. She won't let him out of her sight."

_At least there were a couple of bits of good news. _Selene thought, as she hugged George again. "Please try and get through to Angelina and Ollie," she said into his ear, unwilling to let Fred hear her desperation. "Love you."

When George was gone, Selene slid down the hall wall, just below a photograph of the old Order – a copy of Mad-Eye's original. She hid her head in her hands, and clenched her fists to keep her arms from shaking.

"'Leney?" she heard, and arms slid around her shoulders. "It's okay."

"No, it's not," Selene exhaled, all in a rush, shaking all over. "Our friends are putting themselves in the firing line. How can that be 'okay'?"

The arms moved from her shoulders to slide around her legs, and her arms linked around Fred's neck. Her head tucked into his chest, and Selene shook with sobs.

"It's not," Fred murmured, lying her down on the sofa, tucking a colourful blanket up around her shoulders. Then he lay down next to her, tangling her hair beneath his hands and wiping the tears from her face with his arm. "God, it's not 'Leney. It's not."

"It's so _bloody stupid_," Selene said, seconds before he kissed her and the words were lost. It was desperate, desperate in the way that their hands sought out each other like you might a light switch and desperate in the time it took until they were one person again.

Then Selene closed her eyes, and Fred held her, wanting to pretend that nothing was wrong, when their world was made of cardboard, and would blow down at a nudge.

oOo

Remus Lupin sat in the front room of the Burrow, watching the slowly melting snow disappear beneath his piercing gaze. He checked his watch, after a few minutes, and sighed.

Time went so slowly.

The Burrow was quiet for once, as the younger generation – could he call Dora a younger generation? It just made the funny feeling in his stomach even more taboo – were outside, playing Quidditch in the orchard.

George had arrived, grim-faced, an hour or so earlier, bringing the knowledge that Fred and Selene were safe, despite the horrors happening around them. Only that morning in the _Prophet _had been a description of how Julie Abbot had been found, dead in her home with the Dark Mark above, and the words 'MUDBLOOD' carved into her arm.

Remus remembered Harry noting that there was a Hannah Abbot in his year at school, and he remembered the shy blonde. He sighed, and went back to watching the snow.

Bellatrix never knew quite when to stop.

And then there was the case in London – the capture of Florean Fortescue. A perfectly innocent man, who's only crime was having a Muggle for a late wife. There was no reason to suggest that he was alive. The shop was a burnt out husk, a shell of what it had been.

The last words Selene had spoken to him rang in his head, a simultaneous dig at his hesitation to see Dora as anything more as a close friend, and a plea for forgiveness, that she didn't let him die.

_Remus, I know why you're upset at me, but you have to see things as they are. Please, just understand._

It was all very well for her to ask him to live in the real world when she was happily married, living out of everything and blissfully happy to boot. Every time he saw her photo, the one where she was laughing at something someone was saying off the range of the camera, smiling and waving, he was reminded of how she had nearly killed herself by saving him.

"You should have left me," Remus muttered, watching her face. "You're far too young to die."

She had to survive this war, he knew that much. He owed it to Sirius. If she died, and he lived, he would never forgive himself.

"Fuck this," Remus rolled his eyes, standing up again and pulling his gaze from Selene's photographed eyes. He wasn't going to stand around and think about he was going to have to save someone's life.

oOo

Just like Selene had said, Filius did manage to help her find a job – if only a part-time one. He had a lot of work, now that Dumbledore was so often out on Order business and Minerva was taking over the Headmaster's work. So much work that he needed an extra pair of hands.

But as Selene sat in his office, looking around at the clean desk and watching the pity in her old Head of House's eyes, she knew that it was all a show.

Another deadbeat symphony.

She wanted to feel the lightness in her heart again, be able to walk into the house and land in Fred's arms, his arms picking her up and carrying her away, taking her clothes off and then moving together.

It still happened, of course, but it was bittersweet.

Selene slept for long amounts of time, and Fred would always be holding her when she awoke as well, smoothing her hair behind her ears and kissing her lazily, like nothing was wrong.

He was lying to himself as well.

But he would try to pretend, for her.

_Her._

His wife.

Selene Narcissa _Weasley._

He didn't miss the way that she craved his touch even more than usual, even if it was just a pattern traced with a finger on bare skin, a rhythm tapped on her leg, or an arm around the shoulders.

He threw the _Prophet _in the fire before she could see the headlines, he did everything he could to try and get her back to the beaming girl she had been only three days previously.

But nothing worked.

"I love you," she said, five days after George had arrived with that terrible news.

"I know you do," he replied, sitting up, pulling Selene up with him. "What's wrong?"

She looked back at him with her crystal eyes, resting her hands on his shoulders, not loosing his gaze. Fred wrapped his arms around her bare back, knowing her by memory now. He knew that when she was happy, her skin was warmer, more flushed. When she was scared, you could see her shoulder blades. He knew every inch of her, from the indents of her collarbone to the small scar on her hip.

"I love you," she repeated, blinking. "Oh god, I love you."

"Selene, what's wrong?" Fred said seriously, biting his lip and moving his hand to slide into her hair. "Love?"

For once, Selene didn't cry. She just closed her eyes, and let him pull her closer, burying her head in his neck. "It's nothing," she said, after a while. "Really, Fred. I'm fine. Trust me."

"Okay," Fred smiled. "How's the desk job with Filius going?"

Selene groaned. "Tedious, but it's okay."

"I said you could work with me!" Fred sighed, rolling his eyes. "But did you listen, _no._"

"It's _okay,_" Selene repeated. "Stop being so full of yourself. Yes, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes are huge now but-"

"Did I mention that there may be plans to expand to Hogsmede in the not-so-far future?" Fred cut in, raising an eyebrow. "Probably by next Christmas."

"Of course, you'll have to buy the old Zonko's first, and re-do it up," Selene pointed out. "And it's a year away."

"Which means you like the idea," Fred stuck out his tongue. "You'll be able to pop up to the school and see Harry and Hermione and Ronald and _Ginevra_."

"You're forgetting that I technically work part-time _at _Hogwarts Freddie," Selene smiled back. "If all goes to plan then I'll see them every day."

oOo

Minerva stood up, looking around at the Order and silently calling them to attention. "Thank you," she said, after the noise and the chatter had died down. "It's good to see you all again. Albus was unfortunately unable to take this meeting, as he is… Away."

No one questioned her, although no one really believed her excuse.

"We have two new members," Minerva continued, and George looked down. "Angelina Johnson and Oliver Wood."

Angelina and Oliver stood up, both a little nervous but also confident. Ted, probably in an attempt to clear the ice in the air, called out: "Either of you ex-Hufflepuffs?"

There were a few titters around the table, and George tried to carve a pattern into the wood of the kitchen table with his eyes.

"No," Oliver said, with an uneasy smile. "Both ex-Gryffindors."

Minerva smiled as well, but it only flashed up for a second, if that. Oliver and Angelina sat back down, the latter shooting a glance at George, who didn't look up. "Also I'd like to offer my congratulations to Fred and Selene," she said, with a nod in their direction. "That's all the good news, I'm afraid. Bellatrix Lestrange has attacked another Muggle town, near Bristol."

Selene sighed, looking over at George, who finally looked up in time to shoot a wink in her direction. Fred squeezed her hand.

"It has all the same signs as the Abbot murder," Mad-Eye cut in, also standing up. "By the time my Aurors arrived on the scene, the entire family were dead."

"The Dark Lord knows nothing of Bellatrix's killing spree," Snape added, raising his voice. "But I doubt he would care."

Mad-Eye gave Snape a nod – grumbling under his breath – and turned back to the rest of the Order. "Fenrir Greyback has been sighted not far from Pont-y-pool," He continued. "We have received intelligence that he is heading north, so we'll need a team to head him down at the pass."

It looked like Remus was going to volunteer for the trip, but then Dora's hand shot up, nearly whacking Bill around the head. "I'll go," she said instantly, avoiding Remus's gaze.

"You'll need some help there," Charlie grinned, stretching and also raising his hand. "I haven't got out of the house in months."

Selene looked sideways at Fred, who effectively stopped her from raising her own hand by clamping down hard on it and pinning it to the base of the chair.

"No," he murmured, not looking her in the eyes. "Not right now."

It was easy to translate 'not right now' to 'never', but Selene didn't reply, keeping her gaze on the table and biting her lip.

"Good, that's settled," Mad-Eye barked. "Apart from that nasty business with the footbridge in London, but that's being held as freak weather patterns in the Muggle eye, so our part with that is done."

The Order disassembled rather quickly, all things considered. Dora and Charlie retreated with Mad-Eye to one of the rooms in the higher reaches of Grimmauld Place to be debriefed, and Snape left quickly and quietly. Selene made to leave, along with Fred, but a few high-pitched voices caught her attention.

"No! Dobby is not bad elf Mr Malfoy is not Dobby's master no more!"

"Elves must obey their masters-"

"Albus Dumbledore is Dobby's master now sir!"

Selene cracked open the pantry door, half-expecting the House Elves to disapparate away when they heard a disturbance. But they remained in the pantry, all the same, like whatever had been discussed hardly mattered.

"Mistress!" Dobby positively grinned, a direct opposite to Kreacher's determinedly stubborn and surly countenance. "Dobby is pleased to see Mistress, Dobby was afraid Mistress had forgotten about Dobby?"

Despite her tense mood, Selene laughed. "Of course not," she said kindly, letting her gaze flicker to Kreacher. "How are you Kreacher?"

"Much better now old Master Black has gone," Kreacher muttered. "But of course Kreacher is under the control of Mistress Black-Weasley and Master Potter now."

"I go by just Weasley," Selene corrected gently, grabbing a frying pan out of Kreacher's hands before he could begin to hit himself with it. "No! It's fine."

"Mistress cares nothing for her Pureblood roots," Kreacher scorned. "Mistress married a Blood Traitor and broke her mother's heart, yes-"

"BAD KREACHER!" Dobby almost screamed. "Kreacher must not badly of his Mistress!"

"It's fine!" Selene found herself insisting for the second time. "Dobby, it's okay, I'm fine with it."

"You okay?" Fred squeezed himself into the pantry too, grinning down at Dobby when he saw him. "Dobby! It's good to see you!"

"Master Weasley!" Dobby grinned back up. "Dobby is glad to see Master Weasley, yes, especially as the kitchens are very quiet without Master Weasley and his twin and Mister Jordan!"

"Kreacher must call the Blood-Traitor Master, yes he must," Kreacher grumbled, disappearing with a crack before Dobby could catch him.

"Dobby is sorry about Kreacher Master and Mistress," Dobby said mournfully. "Kreacher is unhappy about having to serve Master Harry and Mistress Weasley now."

Dobby stood up straight, saluted, and disappeared, presumably in search of Kreacher, leaving Fred and Selene alone in the darkening pantry.

"Well," Fred said, after a little pause. "It seems marrying you has more than one perk."

"I really wish Kreacher wouldn't call you a Blood-Traitor though," Selene bit her lip. "It's… Not exactly…"

"Nice?" Fred supplemented, with a laugh. "'Lene, it's like a badge of honour now. I was called one by Slytherins all through school, and even now people refer to me and George as Blood-Traitors. It's lost its sting – not that it had one in the first place."

"Okay," Selene said doubtfully. "If you're sure."

"When am I never 'not sure'?" Fred bragged, with another laugh. "Come on love, let's get home."

The kitchen was fully empty by now, but the last person had been kind enough to leave the lights lit. If you listened hard enough, you could hear Moody's peg-leg stumping around a few floors above, but only faintly. Fred wrapped an arm around Selene, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"I can just see Harry living here," he murmured into her ear. "You'd be around all the time, of course. And I'm sure Ron and Hermione wouldn't live too far away either. Maybe Remus and Dora would live a few miles away. But anyway, my pretty little wife, drinking tea with whoever the hell Harry ends up marrying, while I blow up stuff and make myself even _more_ popular."

"Because of course, popularity is _everything_," Selene rolled her eyes. "And being the co-founder of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes just isn't enough."

"Maybe I'll rephrase," Fred kissed her cheek, dangerously close to her lips. "I'll blow things up and make a nuisance of myself."

"That's the spirit dear," Selene smiled, and let herself be led into the hall, the lights turning off as the door shut behind them.

oOo

On the first of January, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes re-opened for the new year of 1997. It seemed to prove even more popular (if that was possible), judging by the rushes of crowds and the frantic way that Verity had to re-stock every ten minutes.

"Mrs Weasley?" Selene looked up, only to see Verity's head in the doorway of the back room. Verity winked, and gestured towards the main crush of the room. "There's someone here to see you."

"Oh, thanks Verity," Selene stood, trying to tidy the papers she was sorting through for Filius in the seconds before she left the office. "I'll just be a- who is it, anyway?"

The girl stepped into the back room, a hood pulled down low over her face, so you could only see the faintest glimmer of red lipstick. She looked human enough to not be mistaken for a Death Eater, but shady enough not to be disturbed.

"Who are you?" Selene felt for her wand in her, the ministrations getting more and more frantic as the door shut behind the person, and…

"Selene…" The woman said quietly, the hood falling off her head somewhat, allowing a sliver of pale skin to be seen. "You have to help me. You said you would."

Selene let her hand drop, as the full extent of the words kicked in. "Astoria?" She guessed, stepping forwards. "Is that you?"

The woman held up a hand, preventing Selene from coming any closer. "No," She said dryly, lifting the rest of the hood off her face. "It's Daphne."

The shock must have registered on Selene's face, because Daphne laughed without humour, waving a hand with slightly gnawed nails.

"Just because I'm proud doesn't mean I'm not smart," she said, narrowing her gaze. "Like I know that my father killed a man, and my father is supposed to be dead."

"H-h-how d-do you know?" Selene stuttered, blinking a few times, taking in the purplish hue of Daphne's eye and the scar almost visible in her hairline. "W-what h-happened to you?"

Daphne ignored both her questions, dropping the hand that was bridging the gap between them. "I need your help," she repeated. "I need you to tell me everything that happened that day, and why my mother told me that my father was dead when he wasn't."

"What do you know so far?" Selene queried, seeing the desperation in Daphne's eyes, even if it didn't show in her tone. "I've been trying to work it out myself, but-"

"Oh, yes," With a flash, Daphne's perfect manners were back in place. "I think I owe you a congratulations on your marriage, Mrs Black-Weasley."

"Its just Weasley." Selene corrected quickly. "I… I didn't really want to… You know."

"Understandable, given the circumstances," Daphne said quickly, trying to cover up her blunder. "Astoria has no idea that I am here at all, of course. After all, Mother did forbid either of us from leaving without her express permission."

It took just a few minutes to recount everything Selene knew, and by the end Daphne's nails were in her mouth again, chipping off the green nail polish.

"You're saying that my father must have been under some kind of spell?" she asked again, waiting for the nod. "He didn't willingly murder that man?"

"His eyes, he didn't recognise me," Selene explained, trying to steady her hands by sitting on them. "Um… Daphne?"

Daphne looked up suddenly, a little surprised. "Yes?"

"The day you got the letter…" Selene tried to put it gently, but it seemed futile. "Why were you so… Scared?"

Daphne pondered the answer for a number of seconds, before sighing. "You told me the truth," she began reluctantly. "I owe you an answer too. My mother terrifies Astoria and I, she always has. And we suspect she may be a Death Eater."

Selene sat up straighter. "Bloody hell," she said quietly.

Daphne nodded, tenting her fingers and looking across at Selene levelly. "Indeed," she nodded again. "It's quite a mess. I almost don't want to return to Hogwarts on the third, if t means that mother may be doing something behind our family's backs."

"I thought your family were neutral though," Selene's brow furrowed. "How did something like this happen?"

"You tell me," Daphne fixed her eyes on Selene's face, barely nodding. "Your family are the registered Death Eaters. Your father has killed hundreds. In this situation, who is the better qualified?" she held her hand up suddenly. "Hold it. What I am trying to say is that, as much as you can try to stray from your roots, it will always come back to haunt you."

oOo

"What happened?"

Selene looked up suddenly, her eyes blinking in response to Fred's sudden question. "What do you mean?" she bluffed, placing her book to one side.

Fred rolled his eyes affectionately, holding his hand out to her and pulling her to her feet. "Something happened," he said, with all the seriousness he could muster (which, at the moment, was not a whole lot). "'Leney, come on. I know you're afraid of flies, you don't have to hide anymore."

"Wait- what?" Selene giggled, shaking her head quickly. "No, I'm not afraid of flies. Whoever gave you that idea?"

"Everyone's afraid of _something_, my dear," Fred said flippantly, grinning. "Tell me the truth, is it flies?"

"No," Selene rolled her eyes as well. "But _you're _afraid of clowns."

"How must you wound me in this way?" Fred held one hand to his heart mockingly. "I'm not!"

"Then, why is your _Boggart_ a clown?" Selene smirked as Fred ran a hand through his hair. "Got you there."

"You got me before," Fred smiled, unsubtlely changing the subject away from clowns. "You've had me for even longer."

Selene said nothing about Daphne's visit, or the topics discussed. She just listened to Fred's ramblings about why Lee needed to get a girl, and why George needed to pluck up his courage and confront Angelina, nodding here and there.

Even though, inside, she was thinking about Daphne and Astoria.

_What I am trying to say is that, as much as you can try to stray from your roots, it will always come back to haunt you._


	79. Chapter 78: Don't Mean Too Much To Me

**Wow! It's been almost a month since I updated this (minus two days), but I guess today is as good a day as ever, since it's a happy tenth birthday to New Doctor Who (YAY!) and also it's made me forget a little about my exams (thank god, that's a welcome break).**

**I'm fifteen now too. Yep. Needed to, er, say that...**

**I REACHED 600 OH MY GOD!**

**THANKS ARE IN ORDER TO: MyLawyersMadeMeChangeMyName, Maiannaise, ali the retriever, bellatrixD, sarahmichellegellarfan1, xSiriusly Insanex, tayluhm94, HT118, emtyler01and littlelapwing!**

**Then to my Guest reviewers! Zali: wow, that's amazing! I hope this is all it's cracked up to be, especially as I've only had a little time to edit. **

**ItsJustMe1511, THANKS! I love you now (XD) my friend personally thinks that Selene and Percy would be better off together so your praise means a lot to me, especially due to my lack of any love life ever.**

**Guest No.1: Yeah, I realised that mistake quite early on (no one's perfect, least of all me). I think it's more heights that she can't control, and also Cho's insistance.**

**Guest No.2: Yep. I realised that a little late too. If it matters, I'll go back and change it (I feel a bit stupid now, to be honest :p).**

**I've been listening to a lot of Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance at the moment. So if it has a kind of emo vibe/punky vibe, blame the members.. Of those bands... Sorry, but I can't be bothered to list them all. I have lots of Fall Out Boy posters now, anyway.**

**I just need a Phelps Twins poster.**

**Oh! Happy Easter, if you celebrate it!**

_"Gravity, don't mean too much to me." - Bulletproof Heart by My Chemical Romance_

Chapter 78: Don't Mean Too Much To Me  


"Come in?" Selene called, looking up from the work she was sorting through.

The door opened, to reveal a very surprised Hermione Granger in the doorway. The girl in question stood there, eyes fixed on the other girl behind the desk for a few moments, before her stupor dissipated and Hermione surged forward, wrapping the older girl in a hug.

"I was so worried!" she gushed, squeezing the air clean out of Selene. "Especially when you didn't come to wave us off- Mr Weasley said you were too busy but I was so worried that something bad had happened to you-"

"I'm fine Hermione," Selene managed a smile, wincing as Hermione pulled away. "I'm doing a bit of work for Filius, considering that he has so much to do nowadays, and I help Fred and George on my days off."

"It's really good to see you," Hermione grinned widely.

"It's nice to see you too," Selene smiled a little wider. "It really is. I'm sorry I couldn't come to see you all off, but the shop was really busy, and I had no time."

Hermione waved her hand in a dismissive motion, and looked Selene up and down. "So, what's it like?" she asked curiously.

"What's what like?" Selene tidied up the papers, being able to tell that she wouldn't be getting much work done today.

"What's it like being married?" Hermione reiterated, brown eyes twinkling. "Everyone always says that it changes people…?"

"Oh, that," Selene managed a smile. "It's… Nice."

"I bet it is," Hermione grinned, making Selene go slightly pink. "So, I guess everything's okay then."

"As it can be," Selene shrugged, standing up and checking the time. "I'm free now, if you want me to…?"

"I was looking for Professor Flitwick," Hermione admitted, slightly sheepishly. "We did a test a few days ago, I just wanted to check that I got good marks."

_Typical Hermione._

"I saw your tests," Selene didn't add that she'd marked them herself. "You got one hundred and twenty percent. I think the extra twenty percent came from the page and a half you wrote on the question that only needed two lines."

Hermione blushed. "Okay then!" she said, with forced cheeriness that didn't disguise her overly pleased expression. "You don't have to be home anytime soon, do you? It's just I think you might like to see something."

Something in her tone made Selene overly anxious, but she still nodded. "Okay…" she trailed off. "But is it anything… Bad?"

"Bad?" Hermione scoffed. "Quite the opposite. I think you'll love this. Harry really does listen to everything you say doesn't he?"

"If you're talking about why I call him Harold-"

"Then again, I don't think you even talked about this," Hermione continued, as if Selene hadn't spoken. She checked her own watch, and nodded. "It's a good time. It'll have started by the time we get there, of course, but I think it should be okay."

"What are you talking about?" Selene asked, but Hermione just smiled, shook her head, and opened the office door in way of an invitation.

Ten minutes later, Selene finally understood what her friend had been hinting at. They were on the fourth floor corridor. The fourth floor. And they were heading right for the Room of Requirement.

"You mean…" Selene blinked rapidly. "Harry continued the DA?"

"I think it might have been you that gave him the idea, but I'm not entirely sure," Hermione grinned, holding up her Coin between two fingers. "Still got your coin?"

"Of course," Selene fished in her pocket for hers – she had taken to carrying it around with her, even though she believed it to be useless. "It doesn't heat up though."

"I…" Hermione shifted a little uneasily. "I adapted the Protean Charm. Those in the DA that are out of school – you, Fred, George, Angelina, people like that – don't get messages for the meetings. But if I need to send a message to everyone, then you'll get a message."

"…Wow."

Hermione flushed pink, and busied herself with walking up and down in front of the wall for a few moments, long enough for her face to turn normal again and for the old wooden door to begin emerging out of the stone.

"We've had a few new recruits since last year," she explained, as the door shaped itself. "Mainly because Umbridge is no longer at school, so less people are afraid of her."

"I take it not many people like Severus," Selene smiled wryly, ignoring Hermione's stare at her use of the new Defence teacher's first name. "Hey, wait- how many new faces?"

In an answer to Selene's question, Hermione pushed open the door to the Room.

Selene had almost forgotten the sheer amount of noise that the DA meetings generated. The only people that heard Hermione open the door seemed to be Neville and Dean.

"Selene!" The former grinned, starting forward. "No one said that you were coming!"

"Hey Neville," Selene smiled back. "I'm doing a bit of work for Filius, and Hermione-"

"Hey, everyone!" Dean called out, catching the attention of at least half the room. "Look who Hermione brought in!"

"Selene?" Harry blinked over at them, a smile widening on his face. "You're okay!"

There were almost too many new faces to count. Selene saw new first years, not knowing her and naturally staying away from her. But the people that she really saw, properly, were the large group of people dressed in green and silver robes.

Hermione caught her gaze, and smiled. "I think they got sick of all the hatred towards their House," she explained. "Astoria was already here, of course, then Blaise came, and Tracey and some of the younger Slytherins, and finally Daphne joined the first meeting after the holidays."

Daphne spared her only a nod, although her blue eyes lingered anxiously on Selene for a long time after, however Astoria especially seemed happy to see Selene.

"I guess you're pleased then," Harry smiled at his god-sister, gesturing around at the assembled DA. "I wasn't going to keep it going, not now Umbridge is safely away, but things are definitely getting worse and I thought it best if we keep practicing."

"I persuaded him," Hermione chimed in, Selene noting that she was ignoring Ron with what seemed like the majority of her willpower. "We've moved on a bit from offensive Curses, onto protective Charms and things like that."

"Yeah," Ron finally spoke. He too wasn't looking at Hermione. "It's good."

"Articulate as always," Selene half-smiled, letting Harry pull her to one side.

Gradually the DA began to practice again – thanks to the coaxing of Hermione, leaving Harry and Selene a little seclusion. Even so, Harry insisted on checking around him a few times before he finally said what was on his mind.

"I know you probably won't know the answer to this question…" Harry began gingerly, shifting uncomfortably in his shoes. "But… Your brother, has he…"

"I don't know," Selene answered immediately, without missing a beat. The lie lingered in her mouth for long after she had said the words, however. "Harry- I haven't seen my brother for months. Not since the end of last year, at least."

"Oh," Harry was a little deflated, and he looked like he was about to say something else, but his mouth closed quickly. "If you're sure then."

oOo

_"You'll never get away!" Bellatrix screams, throwing spell after spell after spell at the shadows. "Are you running from your Aunty Bella little girl? Are you trying to hide?"_

_ The person on her left laughs, sending one red flashed spell into the trees, waiting until there is a thud until he begins to walk forward, laughing all the time. _

_ "You can't escape!" he yells, elated. "You've eluded us for far too long!"_

_ There's a scream from the shadows, and Bellatrix laughs herself, throwing another well-aimed curse. "Are you _scared_?" she taunts, finding a cold hand when she stretches out into the forest. She yanks the arm forward, hearing a snap and laughing once more. _

_ "I can _never _be scared." The person says back, their voice low. "I can't."_

oOo

"Give me three good reasons why I should do that."

The Minister for Magic sighed, and held out the sheet that Nymphadora Tonks was supposed to be taking. "Miss Tonks, I act in your best interests," he insisted, iron in his tone. "You would be wise to listen to what I say."

"I'm not going to do that," Tonks retorted, crossing her arms. "You won't fire me, I'm one of the best Aurors you have left. I'm not stooping to these levels, no matter who else has relented!"

"All I'm asking is for you to-"

"I'm not going to spy on my friends!" Tonks threw her hands up in the air. "God, who do you take me for? I would never do that!"

"Miss Tonks, I may be forced to-"

Tonks laughed scornfully. "You have no right to fire me for this! Talk to Kingsley by all means, you'll find that I have no previous infractions to speak of!"

She waited just long enough to see if the Minister wanted to speak to her further, before turning on her heel and walking straight out of the room.

Her foot connected with the wall deliberately this time, unfortunately not leaving a dent in the wall, as much as Tonks wanted one to appear. Then there would be a lasting mark to show everyone how much of a lying, cheating bastard the Minister for Magic was.

"Fuck," she muttered, resting her forehead to the wall. "Why does this stuff always happen to me, of all people?"

She let her forehead knock against the wall a couple of times more, before she finally looked up again. As far as she knew, Remus would be at The Burrow, doing whatever he did during the day when she was at work.

Whatever he did during the day, it was going to have to wait.

Mrs Weasley was in the kitchen when Tonks knocked at the back door. The older woman didn't seem annoyed, at all, but she was certainly surprised. "Hello Tonks dearie!" she greeted, with a smile, as always. "Are you looking for Remus?"

"Yeah." Tonks managed to smile back, swallowing down the bile in her throat. "Is he around?"

"He's with Selene," Mrs Weasley's eyes flashed, but she quickly turned away to disguise her anger. "She insists on coming over to help me with Bill's wedding, the dear. I've told her that there's no need, but the day that Selene ever stops being lovely is the day that Fred and George stop pranking people- her and Remus get on so well normally, I don't know what the problem is now… But don't mind my ramblings Tonks dear!" Mrs Weasley suddenly looked up again. "Just go on through to the living room!"

"Thanks Molly," Tonks smiled again, her eyes flickering to the door of the living room. She couldn't hear anyone talking, but she suspected that Remus and Selene were in there, all the same. For one thing, one of Fred's jackets was on the back of one of the kitchen chairs - Selene had taken to 'borrowing' them.

It was a bit… Odd, knowing that her cousin, who was five or so years her junior, was married, and her younger sister had most probably broken a fair few hearts, while she was here pining over a Werewolf that would so clearly never love her back.

"Hello!" Tonks gathered her cheeriness- or as much as she still possessed – as she pushed open the living room door, walking into the debris of what had obvious been a rather heated argument before she had barged in.

Selene recovered first, a smile spreading over her slightly too-pale face as she walked forward and hugged Tonks. "Dora!" she smiled, pulling away after barely a moment. "How are you?"

"Pissed off," Tonks admitted, not looking at Remus. "The Minister's trying to get my to spy on you and the Weasleys- although, I guess, you're a Weasley now." she added, as an afterthought.

"Mad-Eye warned me that might happen," Selene relaxed a little. "It'll be fine Dora, I'm not really of any interest to them-"

Remus looked like he was about to interrupt, probably to provide evidence contrary to Selene's last statement, but Tonks looked dead at him rather abruptly.

"Is it okay if I talk to Remus quickly?" Tonks asked Selene, not looking away from Remus.

"Oh, it's fine," Selene said breezily, in a tone that gave away nothing of what they had been arguing about. "I need to get home now, anyway."

"Oh, Selene, dear?" Mrs Weasley walked into the living room, ignoring Remus and Tonks, who were still awkwardly staring at each other. "You couldn't give me a hand with finding the papers for the wedding, could you…?"

"They're under the washing basket," Selene laughed, following her mother-in-law into the kitchen. "I've tried to sort them as well – the guest list is on top of the rest at the moment…"

Remus made the first move, walking over to the door and closing it. Then he turned to Tonks, and laughed. "You've guessed the problems, judging by your lack of surprise," ee said dryly, sitting down on the sofa.

"I didn't guess," Tonks admitted. "Everyone knows that you and Selene haven't properly talked since before Christmas. I just want to know the problem."

"She's too noble, and I'm... well, a Werewolf," Remus said simply. "If everyone was like Selene, then we'd all be dead."

Tonks knew what Remus was getting at, but it still made her blood boil. "Don't be so mean," she said, her eyes narrowing. "She's trying to _help you_."

"Exactly," Remus said miserably.

"Look," Tonks clenched her fists. "If you would let me, I would help you. If you let Selene, she would help you. If you let Molly, she would help you. Sirius _tried _to help you!"

"Don't," Remus didn't look up, but Tonks knew that he was angry. "Don't talk about Sirius like that."

"What would Sirius say?" Tonks continued. "Remus – I _love _you, and Sirius loved you, and yet we can't help you. Please, just... Let people-"

Remus closed his eyes, leant backwards, and shook his head. "I just want this war to be over," he said bitterly. "Is it bad that I wish Albus had never offered me the teaching job? At least then I would never had to deal with... Any of this."

oOo

It was raining – again.

Most people had decided to stay inside, but there were the runners with their umbrellas, and the odd few who used water-repelling charms.

The opposite end of the Alley to The Leaky Cauldron, someone pulled on a coat, closed the door of a shop behind them, and covered their head with a hood to keep out the pouring rain.

They walked straight down the Alley, deviating from the main path only to take a left turn down the side of Gringotts, towards Knockturn Alley, the shadier part of the Wizarding shopping complex.

Knowing who this person was made you confused as to why she would be down here at all, let alone on a day where she wasn't required to go into work. Normally that required her presence at her husband's shop, but evidently not today.

Selene ducked under the cover of a shop, pulling the hood off her head and looking around quickly, her heart thumping faster. Knockturn Alley disturbed her at the best of times, but now she knew what could be hiding around the corner.

But, no. She _had _to do this. It had told her specifically this date on the letter, and she couldn't miss it. Not after the letter had been unopened for nearly a month.

Would it actually make any difference?

The answer was no. No it wouldn't. It never would. But she had to try.

Selene got a few looks – she was too clean-cut to be a Knockturn frequenter. But she routinely ignored them, in favour of concentrating in order to locate the place where she would be meeting her mother.

How long had it been since they had seen each other, talked to each other? Mrs Weasley meant well, and Selene had grown to think of her as a mother too, but the thought of being able to talk to her own mother after so long made her smile.

The small, vacated shop was right in the corner of the Alley, out of most people's vision. Selene pulled the hood back over her head, tugged her coat more tightly around her body and pushed her hands into her pockets.

She hoped that no one would notice her. Selene Weasley, meeting someone shadily in the middle of a rainstorm? The alligations made against her at the Ministry would certainly be followed up.

The shop door creaked as she pushed it open, and Selene immediately checked behind her for any persuers. Then she walked through the door, pulling it closed.

"Selene?"

Selene's head jerked up, her eyes meeting those of her mother instantly. She pulled one hand out of her pocket, unbuttoning the first button of her coat. "M-mother?" She stuttered, her eyes widening.

They didn't make any moves to move towards one another – why should they? – but the expression in Narcissa's eyes said it all. "How I've missed you." The older woman whispered, as if the very words were sacred. "How is everything?"

"Lovely," Selene bit her bottom lip, the hood falling off her face as she looked at the dark robes that her mother was wearing. Her mind skipped to the worst conclusion, before she shrugged it off. "I... Mother, I-"

"Ssh," Narcissa smiled, closing her eyes and nodding. "I'm glad you're happy, Selene. It's always hard for a mother to let go, but after seeing you so upset..."

"I know about Draco," Selene cut in, getting to the chase before her heart burst out of her chest.

"But do you know the circumstances?" Narcissa asked, her eyes darkening. "Draco chose to take the Mark, in the end."

"What were they?" Selene ran her hand through her hair. "Mother, I'm old enough to understand, everything. I'm not a... I'm not a five year old asking where babies come from, or why I can reach the top bookshelf just by stretching as tall as I can!"

"I never said you were," Narcissa replied calmly, and Selene knew that her eyes had spotted her ring. "The... Voldemort gave our family a choice Selene. Either we give up Draco to him, or he would..." Narcissa took a deep breath here, and Selene took a tiny step forward. "He wanted to kill me, and you."

_Of course. _

"I... I think I kind of guessed," Selene admitted quietly, galncing behind them both, looking out of the window. Narcissa took her own, tiny step. "What has he been asked to do though?"

Narcissa shook her head, walking up to her daughter, her heels clicking on the bare floorboards. She brushed an invisible speck of dust off Selene's shoulder, and nodded again. "Lucius misses you too," she said, expertly avoiding Selene's question.

"I miss you both," Selene admitted, biting her lip again. "But- I can't come back, you know that."

"I know you're safe, and that's all I care about," Narcissa smiled, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Selene's forehead. "Fred loves you, and I know he'll keep you safe."

"I can't promise I'll always be safe though," Selene exhaled sharply. "I'm going to help Harry, and Ron, and Hermione, and Remus, and I'm in the Order now. I'll never be properly safe."

"None of us are," Narcissa sighed, blinking a few times. "It won't be long until this is all over though."

"I hope not."

Narcissa passed her daughter a dirty, slightly crumpled piece of parchment, checking her watch as she did. "I hope we can see each other again," she smiled, giving Selene a loose hug that was returned.

"I love you Mama," Selene murmured, resting her head on Narcissa's shoulder.

"I love you, my little moon." Narcissa smiled, taking a deep breath in. "Never forget that."

oOo

"You know," Fred said suddenly, as he watched Selene try and write a letter on the kitchen side – as the table was covered in paper already. "I never properly congratulated you on your inspiration."

"What do you mean?" Selene's brow furrowed as she looked up, thouroughly confused. "I haven't inspired anything as far as I know, apart from maybe a book on how not to deal with anything."

"Still as unfunny as ever," Fred pulled a face. "Nah, I meant the offical Weasley's Wizard Wheezes product you inspired."

This piqued her interest. "Okay, since when?" Selene paused her efforts, turning around and watching as Fred stood up. "And what? Is it overly offensive? Because if it is, I don't want to know."

Fred rolled his eyes, rested his hands on Selene's shoulders, and shook his head. "Right, so I distinctly remember how you would always tell me what to do when we were doing homework together."

"If you can call it homework," Selene smirked. "It was more me doing work while you put me off."

"You know you love it," Fred winked, moving down to kiss her on the cheek. "No, but what I'm getting at is that you _know _everything. So..."

He paused, digging in his pocket with one hand and slipping his other hand into the back pocket of Selene's jeans with the other. He produced a purple-wrapped sweet, opened it, and popped it in his mouth.

"What's it supposed to do?" Selene asked curiously, but Fred pressed a finger to her lips.

"You know," he continued, in the same manner as before, plus a smug expression. "I've had an epiphany. Golpalott's Third Law can't be broken, but there are ways of getting around it. In _Hogwarts, A History_, it plainly states that for one to be able to Transfigure food you first _need_ food so... Why hasn't anyone realised that before?"

Selene's eyes widened, and Fred laughed, kissing her. "Your expression says it all," he grinned. "These little beauties are called _Know-It-All Cheesecakes. _See the not-so-subtle reference?"

"Yes, but does it actually make you talk _sense_?" Selene laughed, picking up her quill again with a shake of her head.

"_Au contraire, mon amour." _Fred smirked. "_Je peux parler français aujourd'hui_."

"I'm not getting into this conversation!" Selene said quickly, throwing her hands in the air in mock surrender. She picked up her parchment, sitting down in Fred's free seat and surveying the contents of what she had written so far.

"Who you writing to?" Fred asked, moving to stand behind the chair Selene was sitting on, resting his head on her shoulder. "Anyone I actually care about?"

"Just Cho," Selene sighed. "Before you ask, no she doesn't know about the Order, and I have no wish to tell her."

"Angelina still hasn't made up with George," Fred added, running a hand through his hair. "Lee reckons their relationship might have had it now."

"Lee's often wrong."

Scribbling a footnote, Selene folded the paper over once, then twice, and slipped it into an envelope. The address went on the outside, and then it was placed onto the working surface.

"Shove up," Fred complained, waiting until Selene had moved to one side slightly before sitting down himself, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Right, so how did the meeting with your mother go?"

"I really don't want to talk about it," Selene said, snuggling closer to her husband. But after a few moments of silence, she continued. "It was... Good. I think."

"And that's all I need to know."

They were interrupted by a loud thump at the window, and a muted screech. Selene jumped up, running to try and find the source of the noise and emerging with the prone body of Errol.

"Seriously?" Fred groaned, accepting the owl as Selene untied the letter. "Errol? Why didn't Mum just Floo Call? I doubt Errol's going to survive for much longer at this rate."

As if agreeing with him, Errol let out a squawk.

Selene looked up from the letter that she had just opened, wordlessly swapping the letter for the owl. Fred scanned it himself, his annoyed expression changing into a wide grin.

"To St. Mungo's!" he exclaimed, pulling Selene by the arm. "Put Errol down love, Katie can't have been awake for that long, I doubt they'll let animals anywhere near her."


	80. Chapter 79: Awakenings and a Birthday

**I UPDATED FAST! Of course, a fast update means less views and reviews on my last chapter but I don't mind. To new readers, hello! I would love it if you leave a little review on a chapter somewhere, even just a word. Good or bad, I crave reviews.**

**To older readers, hey again and I'm back in the swing of things with this story again, so I know how the next few chapters will pan out.**

**Next chapter will be the return of Katie to Hogwarts, Harry attacking Draco, Harry seeing the dream that Selene gifted to Dumbledore (remember that?), and possibly the Battle of the Astronomy Tower.**

**Thank you to ali the retriever, sarahmichellegellarfan1, Charly the Ravenclaw, bellatrixD, Viv, TheHungryRainbow and xSiriusly Insanex.**

**Yeah. So, er, enjoy this slightly shorter chapter.**

_"If you could flick the switch and open your third eye, you'd see that we should never be afraid to die." Uprising by Muse_

Chapter 79: Awakenings and a Birthday

"I'm not entirely sure if I want to go back to Hogwarts," Katie admitted, not looking up from her hands.

Selene's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. The reasons were clear, even if they weren't explicitly spoken. "Well," she answered gingerly, picking at her nail thoughtfully. "Katie, do you know who… Er-"

"I've told everyone, I can't remember," Katie sighed, glancing over at her friend. "I have no recollection, except that I needed to take it to Dumbledore."

Selene chewed at the inside of her mouth. Her fingers began to buzz, in a way that niggled at her brain, trying to convince her to act on her thoughts. It was if the mere thought was the deed. She could feel the power in her hands, at the very least. It wanted to get out. And she wasn't going to let it.

"You have… No idea?" Selene said carefully, inhaling a shallow breath. "Katie, I think-"

Katie shrugged, cutting Selene off. "Everyone has theories," she sighed. "But I'm alive, and… It's good. Oliver's been fussing over me – seriously, he's worse than my bloody mother! But I've been lucky, everyone says so."

"Yeah," Selene shuddered to think of what might have been. "Katie- I think you need to go back. So… So whoever tried to kill you knows that you're okay, and fighting."

"You'd be great as a kind of rebel leader," Katie smirked, looking across at her friend. "You're not too pushy, you're sweet and caring, and everyone likes you."

"I don't think Fred would like that," Selene sighed, passing Katie another photo. "Look at this one."

Katie glanced at the photograph, and broke out in giggles. "What is George doing?" she asked.

"I think he's meant to be salsa dancing," Selene grinned. "I think you can just see Angie, in the corner, trying not to die."

"What's up with them now?" Katie sighed. "George can be so dense sometimes. He just needs to walk up to her, and kiss her until she stops trying to get away."

Selene smiled, somewhat wistfully, and nodded absent-mindedly. "Definitely…" she echoed, blinking in the suddenly harsh glow. "Just not in France, maybe?"

"I think George would be hard-pressed to set foot in France," Katie smirked. "Why? Is that how Fred got you out of France?"

"Why yes, my dear Katie," Fred cut in, walking through the open ward door, a huge grin on his visage. "That is in fact how I got my dear wife out of the land of the French. Are you going over there? Top tip: French people don't actually go around wearing berets and strings of onions."

"Wow," Katie said slowly, affording him a slow clap as well, as Fred wrapped his arms around Selene's neck. "I have no intention of going to France anytime soon."

"It's okay when it's sunny," Fred shrugged, his hands going to Selene's waist. "And when you're after someone who is way too easy to spot."

Selene rolled her eyes, a slight flush rising on her face as Fred began to kiss her neck. But she needn't have worried, Katie started making retching noises and Oliver raced through the open door, evidently scared that Fred was doing something horrible to her.

"NO!" Oliver almost shrieked. "No… No… No public displays of affection, even if you two are married now…"

"All the more reason, I guess," Fred shrugged, but Selene quickly pushed him away.

"Calm down," she managed a smile, reaching up to kiss him, much to Oliver's disgust (although Katie didn't seem as aggravated). "I'll still love you, even if you don't try to make everyone vomit every ten seconds."

"Her sense of humour is still terribly backward," Fred said sadly, shaking his head at Katie. "I've not rubbed off on her at all. Not even the puns-"

"Yes, okay, we get it," Selene cut in, pressing her hand over his mouth. "I'm really sorry I can't stay longer Katie, but-"

"We have stuff to _do_," Fred added, peeling his wife's hand off of his mouth with a satisfied smirk. "Remember the deal we had about the tickets to the Cannons/Puddlemere game Oliver."

Oliver muttered under his breath, not looking up as Fred practically towed Selene out of the ward, pausing only long enough to wave Katie goodbye.

No sooner had Fred and Selene tumbled out of the room, Fred had grabbed Selene's hand and pulled her into a side room, tugging the door of that room shut as well.

"What's the matter?" Selene asked, eyes wide, slightly out of breath. When he didn't respond, she squeezed his hand. "Fred? Are you okay?"

Fred shrugged, his eyes glinting. "Maybe I just wanted to get my wife all to myself."

Selene sighed, rolling her eyes. "I was really worried right there," she admitted, biting her lip. "Fred- are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," Fred grinned, tilting his head to one side slightly. His smile dropped a little. "'Lene, what's the matter?"

"You've just worked me up, that's all," Selene waved her hand, sitting down on a chair. "Just… yes, I'm fine Fred, don't worry about me."

"I heard what Katie said," Fred continued, sitting down next to her. "About you making a good rebel leader."

"She made it sound a bit too Star Wars-y," Selene managed a smile, still trying to regain her breath. "And you don't need to worry, I don't even know what I'll be doing this time next year, let alone when this war begins to grow."

"Don't be shellfish," Fred said, trying to keep a straight face. "And I bet Katie did the Star Wars-y thing on porpoise, most dolphinitely. So, you sea, it's just a cod to Luke Skywalker."

"Maybe if you weren't so puntentional then people would take you more seriously," Selene laughed, resting her forehead against Fred's. "You'd make a good leader of the rebel alliance too Freddie."

"We're back to Freddie then?" Fred raised an eyebrow. "I thought that name only cropped up when you're flirting with me."

"Stop being so incredibly dense, _Frederick_," Selene teased, closing her eyes as he kissed her.

oOo

That bloody mark.

He was staring at it now, his eyes flickering to the subtle detail of the forked tongue that seemed to be moving, and then back down to the tail, that curled up and extended with his breathing.

It represented a choice he had made. And Draco wasn't happy with the choice. He remembered what his mother had said after he had taken it (_You didn't need to_) and he could see his sister's careful gaze in his head, staring back at him whenever he closed his eyes.

He still wanted to run away, but it was satisfaction enough to think of what the Order must undoubtedly be doing to bring down his Lord and Master. Once he had been foolish enough to want to serve the Dark Lord, but now he was older, and much, much wiser.

Draco would be shown no mercy after this War had ended – that was, if he survived – probably not even from his sister and her new family. This made him sigh.

The Weasleys bred like rabbits. He'd be an uncle before long. He'd dreamt of playing good cop to his sisters children, buying them toy broomsticks and sweets when Selene had said no, but now his dream would never come to fruition. When his sister had children, he would either be the absent, evil uncle, or the uncle that was never spoken of, dead in a grave somewhere.

Draco clenched his fist and punched the ground, relishing in the pain that blossomed in his hand. Why couldn't Dumbledore just drop dead of his own accord? Then Draco wouldn't have this… This stigma lying on his back, despite the promises made by his mother and Snape. He was old enough, after all.

The locket idea, concocted by his aunt of all people, had not worked. Draco had no back-up plan, none to speak of. He had been so sure that it would work. Bellatrix had been so sure that it would work. His father… Well, who knew? There might have been plans to break Lucius Malfoy from Azkaban, but it there were plans then they hadn't even been discussed in Meetings.

Lucius Malfoy was disposable. Draco was disposable. His mother was disposable. The only member of their family that wasn't disposable was Selene – she was far too useful as blackmail material, and if they needed information they could easily get Pius Thicknesse to sign a warrant to bring her in for 'questioning'.

Draco knew that his aunt had been waiting to get her hands on her niece, and his stomach turned over at the thought.

He looked back down at the Mark, and thanked Severus Snape silently for all he was worth. If it wasn't for the Potion Master's Occlumency skills then he would be dead already. And the Mulled Mead wouldn't be honestly set in Professor Slughorn's office.

Over, back in the school, in the Room of Requirement, Ginny Weasley was laughing.

"Seriously, Neville…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "How many times have we told you – never accept a custard cream from anyone!"

Neville plucked a yellow feather off his head. "I thought it was Fred and George that the rule applied to."

"It is, but everyone carries their Canary Creams nowadays," Ginny smirked, shaking her head again. "Selene accidentally wrote me a letter on the back of one of their invoices, apparently they're a bestseller."

"Only Selene would write a letter on the back of an invoice," Seamus grinned broadly.

"Only George would leave it lying around for her to write on," Ginny corrected, with a giggle. "Talking of which, I think we have a visitor for next week's Meeting."

Harry looked up from where he was showing Daphne Greengrass how to conjure a Patronus correctly, and quickly excused himself. "Who's the visitor?" he asked, trying not to stare too long at any one part of Ginny's anatomy.

"Technically _visitors_," Ginny grinned at Harry, turning him a scarlet shade. Harry was definitely beginning to understand how Selene felt. "Fred and George have decided to pop over next week, show us how joke products can be used offensively and defensively."

"Like Canary Creams," Neville shuddered at the thought. Harry nodded, smiling back at Ginny. "Is Selene coming too?"

"Apparently she's going out with Angelina and Alicia," Ginny shrugged. "Well, George definitely wrote Alicia's name, Angelina's was more a messy squiggle."

_I could always go and see her tomorrow._ Harry supposed, checking his watch. He clapped, gathering the attention of the room.

"Good job everyone!" he called out, smiling around at his students. "Colin, your accuracy is much improved- Dean, remember to practice those non-verbals with Seamus, and… I'll see you all when we arrange a suitable date!"

A chorus of 'Bye Harry's, 'See ya, Ron's and 'Goodbye Hermione's broke out, and one by one the masses of people filtered out of the room, until only Harry, Ron and Hermione were left.

"I'll be of age tomorrow," Ron repeated for the umpteenth time that day, his face breaking out into a smile.

"We know, Ronald," Hermione sighed, averting her gaze from the red mark on the side of Ron's neck. Harry shared a sympathetic look with his friend – he knew what she was going through. It was painfully obvious to everyone that Hermione was in love with Ron Weasley, apart from Ron himself.

"Don't rub it in," Harry grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I have to wait until July."

"Patience is a virtue," Hermione responded immediately. Ron rolled his eyes.

"It's my seventeenth you two, cut me some slack," Ron insisted. "It's not like… I'm going to a lecture on Arithmancy or something, that's boring."

"If anything interesting happens tomorrow, let me know," Hermione groaned, shifting her bag higher onto her shoulder.

oOo

"I'm always a bit worried that someone will walk in here…" Selene said gingerly, pushing away a stack of papers with her foot.

"Calm down love," Fred smirked, pushing his nose through her hair. "George knows that when you can't open the door on the first try he needs to walk away slowly."

"He doesn't mind us using the storeroom?" Selene pushed herself up on her elbows.

Fred laughed outright. "Oh, he hates it," He winked, pulling a face as someone knocked at the door. "Oh, fuck."

"Literally?"

"You know it," Fred smirked, as Selene pulled her skirt back on. "Maybe we should actually get a separate room-"

Selene bunched up his shirt and tie and threw it at his face, making sure that it hit home. "Hurry up then," she said, pulling her jumper on over her top and slipping her feet into her shoes.

"Anything for you," Fred winked, making Selene blush again, He guffawed, mouthing 'Later', and Selene walked out the door, giving him an annoyed look as she did.

"Mr Weasley?" Selene awkwardly fixed her hair, making sure that the storeroom door was fully closed by kicking it with her foot. "What's the matter?"

Mr Weasley was never composed, but he seemed even jumpier than normal. "It's Ron," Was all he could offer to begin with.

"What's the idiot gone and done now?" Fred asked, emerging from the storeroom, tightening up his orange tie and straightening his jacket. "Don't tell me he's got a cake fork jammed up his ar-"

"He's been poisoned," Mr Weasley finished, eyes panicked and wide. "That's all we know so far."

"I'll get Verity to close up the shop," George called, from the front.

"Jesus Christ," Fred swore, closing his eyes. "Ron can never just have a simple day, can he?"

oOo

"So," Fred began, staring at the prone body of his brother lying on the Hospital Wing bed. "All in all, not one of Ron's better birthdays."

Selene thumped him gently on the shoulder, glancing across to where Hermione was anxiously holding Ron's hand. She managed a little smile, but it dropped almost immediately when she saw the ashen shade of Harry's face.

When he looked up, she mouthed 'Are you okay?' at him, but he just shook his head, going back to staring at his friend.

"Mr Weasley was incredibly lucky," Madam Pomfrey said bustling in and startling most of them. "If Mr Potter hadn't found a bezeor in time…"

Mrs Weasley let out a muted sob, and had to run out, pursued by her husband. Fred took Selene's hand and squeezed it, and George wrapped an arm around his twin.

"Granger really likes Ron, doesn't she?" Fred whispered to Selene, who nodded sadly.

"I'm surprised Pomfrey let us all in," George admitted, running a hand through his hair. "What is it, five or even six over the normal limit?"

"It's because you're in here mate," Fred smirked.

"Poppy always loved me too much for her own good," George sighed wistfully, earning a giggle from Ginny, who until this moment had stayed silent.

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Prove it."

"Not the time." Bill said, sending both twins a meaningful look.

Fred and George died down, and Harry stood up, obviously a little jumpy with everyone staring at him. He headed towards the back of the room, and Selene stood up slowly, making moves to follow him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, as soon as they were out of earshot.

"What do you think?" Harry asked hopelessly, rubbing his eyes. "Selene, how Ron was poisoned… Slughorn gave us some Mulled Mead meant for Dumbledore."

Selene thought about the elderly Professor, and shook her head quickly. "He wouldn't try to poison Dumbledore," she insisted. "Harry, he wouldn't."

"Then who is trying to kill Dumbledore?"

"Whoever it is, it isn't Horace," Selene said calmly, biting her lip again, wincing as she tasted blood. "Give yourself a break from all this Harry – Ginny's single now, isn't she?"

Harry managed a little smile, and a shrug. "Maybe later," He decided. "Oh, and Selene? Your skirt is on inside out."

oOo

"Cousin of mine!" Lily yelled, attempting a run/skip hybrid across the Entrance Hall. "Your skirt is inside out, by the way."

"I know," Selene sighed, blushing as she looked down at it. "How are you Lily?"

"Pissed off - the Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let me go see Ron in the Hospital Wing," Lily pulled a face, and stuck up a finger in the general direction of where Madam Pomfrey would be.

"There were loads of us up there last I was," Selene reasoned, trying not to look into Lily's eyes. She didn't look very happy.

"So!" Lily changed the subject abruptly, hooking her arm though her cousin's. "Your skirt is inside out, your hair is a mess… How much sex have you actually been having?"

"Lily!" Selene coloured.

"Never did nothing," Lily smirked. "You are delightfully transparent Sellie, so go answer the question."

"Why should I?" Selene hated to bait Lily like this, but she crossed her arms and tried to hide her blushing. "Lily, seriously, just…"

"Hmm…" Lily adopted a pensive look, before baring her teeth. "I think you shagged him about five minutes before you got here."

"LILY!" Selene groaned, pushing her hair off her face. "No, I am not having this conversation with you."

"Excuse me for wanting to be able to pick baby names in advance."

Selene made to try and escape her cousin, but Lily held her fast. "Let's go and see your husband, shall we?" She grinned, with a smirk. "Maybe he'll be a tad more… Co-operative."

Making a mental note to tell her Aunt Andy about her youngest daughter's slightly confusing sexual tendencies, Selene allowed herself to be dragged along, once again.

oOo

"I'm in love with Nymphadora Tonks," Remus repeated to himself, over and over again, staring up at the sky. "I. Am. In. Love. With. Dora. Tonks."

It didn't fit. It couldn't be true. But when he closed his eyes, he only saw her. And his dreams at night… He shivered just to recollect them now. So, did it fit now? Did everything make sense?

Some of it did – part of the reason why he no longer spoke in a fatherly way towards Selene, was one of the parts that fit, but others didn't. Dora shouldn't be in love with him, a Werewolf, and he shouldn't love her.

Was love this confusing? His first thought was to tell Sirius – but, of course, Sirius was no longer in this World. Remus shook the thought away; he needed to concentrate on this one fact right now. Why he was in love with Dora, nothing else.

The only other person he could think of asking was Selene. She would definitely know; she had gone from hatred to mutual admiration to a full-on relationship in all of three months.

But Remus couldn't bring himself to ask her. She was happy as she was; he was better off just leaving her alone.

Maybe this argument with her was petty, and childish, and immature, like Dora kept insisting. She was only trying to help him, after all. But then the visions that haunted him flashed in front of his eyes, and Remus shuddered.

He knew in his heart that it was only his mind trying to save his conscience, but Selene's body looked so much like that of Lily Potter's, the last time he had ever seen her. Remus lived with the deaths of Sirius, Lily and James, Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, the Prewett twins, Benjy Fenwick, Caradoc Dearborne, his mother, James's parents, Lily's parents, Mary MacDonald and so many others on his conscience.

Adding the weight of Selene's would surely break his heart for good.

"Remus?"

"I'm okay," Remus said automatically, without even registering the identity of the speaker. That was all anyone seemed to ask him: was he okay? Then he turned around to look at who was walking towards him. "Oh."

"Mum sent me out to check on you," Charlie said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And… Well, I had something to ask you as well."

"Ask away," Remus managed a little smile as Charlie sat down next to him. "What's the matter?"

"Dumbledore is sending me on another Auror mission," Charlie began to explain. "I don't know anything else yet, but I think he wants Selene to go with me."

"So why are you asking me?" Remus asked wryly. "It's not up to me, what happens- who goes on missions and who doesn't."

"Yes, but don't you think," Charlie paused. "Dumbledore seems awfully eager to get her out of the picture, out of the country even."

Remus nodded thoughtfully. "You need to remember that Albus has to try and protect a whole world." He began, slowly. "And that the easiest way to keep someone like Selene-"

"Who could destroy everything," Charlie agreed. "Because if the Death Eaters get her, then my entire family- me included – will go after Voldemort."

"She acts like she's superhuman, that she'll never get hurt," Remus added, his eyes darkening. "Look, do you remember when I was picked up by her? Greyback almost murdered her."

"She never said…"

Remus shook his head. "There's no point on dwelling on this," He insisted, standing up. "What will happen; will happen. I'm just trying to prevent it."

As he started back towards The Burrow, Charlie called after him. "You like Tonks, don't you?"

Remus glanced behind him again, and offered a half shrug, half nod in response.

oOo

"Are you going to forgive me yet?"

"George, I forgave you a long time ago," Angelina smiled, shaking her head. "A long time ago. I just need you to stop worrying. You're going to give yourself worry lines."

"Would you still love me if I looked like a fifty year-old at the age of eighteen?" George smirked, throwing her a sweet.

Angelina pulled a face. "No, and I'd only go to your funeral if there was cake," she teased, unwrapping the sweet and placing it in her mouth.

"No jokes about me turning into my mother?"

"Oh, I have many, _many_ to use on you," Angelina smirked, hitting George lightly around the head. "Like – oh, I'm sorry Molly, I didn't know you spent so much time in Diagon Alley."

"There's my Angel," George grinned, gesturing to the sweet wrapper. "Okay, so how do you feel?"

Angelina paused, and shrugged. "Indifferent," she said, throwing the sweet wrapper at his face. "Come on then- tell me what it's like, being the third wheel all the time now."

"Horrible," George pulled a face. "They shag in the storeroom."

"Never going in there again." Angelina remarked.

"And I'm not the third wheel," George continued, protesting. "Selene works at Hogwarts now, so she's not always there. And they don't live with me anymore."

"Got room for one more?" Angelina asked, raising her eyebrows. "I got sick of my mum always getting on at me to get a 'proper job'."

"Join the club," George gestured around at the shop around them. "Mum's come to terms with us, but she's still not happy."

"Still, would she be annoyed if I started living with you?" Angelina asked again.

"Geez, Angel," George winked. "Mum loves you almost as much as she loves cooking. She'd have no problem with it."

"So it's okay."

"Are we dating again, or are you still mad at me?" George asked, checking his watch quickly.

"Like I said, I forgave you a long time ago," Angelina began, but then she sighed and changed tack. "Yes, okay. We can pick up where we left off."

"Well then!" George stood up, a wide grin on his face. "To the storeroom!"


	81. Chapter 80: Old Scars

**Thank you to littlelapwing, emtyler01, bellatrixD, HT118, ali the retriever, sarahmichellegellarfan1, Viv and Nouvel Oblique!**

**To Guest: my Instagram is consulting lasagne (with a dot where the space is). **

**I updated quickly again… This chapter's pretty long… And I guess that's it. Please take some time to check out some of my other stories, if you have the time, especially as they're mostly Harry Potter.**

**Read and review!**

_"Well I am a killjoy, from Detroit, a spasm of love and hate." - Peacemaker by Green Day_

Chapter 80: Old Scars

"It's okay…" Fred murmured, smoothing Selene's hair off her face. "'Leney, it's fine, I'm here…"

"You…" Selene sobbed, choking on her breath. "Fred… I… You… Dead…"

"No, I'm not." Fred said calmly, wrapping his bare arms more tightly around her shoulders. "Selene, I'm here, I love you, I'm here."

It was the third time this week that Selene had woken up, tears pouring down her face. And it wasn't just visions of his death – she's told him about how she'd dreamt about flashes of white light in front of her eyes and screaming.

He kissed the tears from her face, before moving his lips to her collarbone. "The world might be ugly," he murmured again. "But you're beautiful to me, my love."

Selene sobbed again, and her legs curled up. "Please don't leave me." she said quietly, into Fred's shoulder. "Please…"

"When would I do that?" Fred smiled, kissing her collarbone again. "'Lene, I love you, I would never leave you."

He knew what it would be like in the morning. She would pretend her nightmares never happened, they would kiss, maybe have sex, then it would be over until the next night.

She wasn't okay, and it hurt him to see her like it. So he went along with her pretences, and didn't talk about what she dreamt about. But he _needed _to know this time, why this time she wasn't talking fluently.

"Selene, can old Mouldy still… Get to your mind?"

Selene tensed, looking up again, before she slowly nodded. "I'm sorry," she said gingerly, her voice still low. "I didn't want anyone to worry, I can't get the Occlumency to work anymore, he…" she took a deep breath. "He's breaking down all the walls I have in place."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Fred sighed, running his fingers through Selene's hair. "I will always be here for you, my love."

In the morning, it was just like Fred had predicted, at least to begin with. It was a Sunday, so Fred woke up first, turning over and kissing Selene awake, waiting until her eyes had flickered open before offering to make breakfast. And, like every other time, she said no, and went to make it herself.

"Bacon." Fred grinned, as he walked into the kitchen. "You know me so well, my love."

"Don't eat too much, you'll get fat." Selene joked, grabbing one of her many books and looking down at it, not quite fast enough to hide her tired eyes and tears. "You're not middle-aged yet."

"When I'm middle-aged I will be as chiseled as I am now." Fred grinned, wrapping his arms around Selene waist and checking the book over her shoulder. "You've read that one three times this month."

"I love it." Selene turned the fluorescent cover over in her hands, and Fred brushed a tear off her face with his finger. "The ones with happy endings are the best."

"What do you need?" Fred murmured into her ear, laying his hand on top of hers. "'Leney?"

Selene took a sharp intake of breath, and turned around to face him, handing him the book she had been reading. "Read it," she said calmly, her eyes not leaving his. "Read it, and tell me what you think."

Fred took the book, studied the cover for a moment, before smiling and nodding, placing it to one side and slipping one hand into her hair. "Anything else?" he asked. "Mad-Eye would help you, I'm sure."

"Mad-Eye can't know." Selene said quietly. "I don't want to worry anyone."

"But you _are_," Fred insisted, his voice raising. "Selene, I'm bloody terrified that one day I'm going to wake up and you are just simply not going to be there."

"And you think I don't feel the same way," Selene sighed, turning back around. "I have to go into Hogwarts tonight Fred, Albus said he needed to talk to me."

Fred nodded, but he didn't move away from her. He took a deep breath. "Let me know before you go running off next time, love?"

Selene let out a little sob, and flung her arms around him, the bacon completely forgotten.

oOo

Harry couldn't get the image out of his mind.

_"Harry, what I am about to show you may disturb you," Dumbledore said, hovering in front of the Pensieve, a look on his face that Harry had never seen there before. "It links directly to Hephzibah Smith's memory, but it is a lot more personal."_

_ "What do you mean?" Harry asked, looking at his Headmaster curiously. However, all Dumbledore did was make a slight gesture with his good hand, and look at Harry with the same piercing gaze as before._

_ "Harry, I have looked through this memory many times," Dumbledore added. "And I think you'd better see it. However, what I am about to show you was given to me by someone close to you, on the conditions that only people that need to see it would be able to see it."_

_ Harry still had no idea, and he nodded, a little impatiently. Dumbledore again grasped Harry's hand with his good one, and leant closer to the Pensieve, Harry following suit. He got the glimpse of a large, black stone house, before he was pulled beneath the surface, Dumbledore beside him._

_ They emerged on the other side, Harry stumbling like he always seemed to do. Dumbledore thankfully ignored his clumsiness, and waited for his student to stand up, looking at the path leading up to the black stone house in the meanwhile. _

_ "Bellatrix!" Harry hissed, staring at the woman stalking up the path, her boots clicking all the while. Even knowing that he couldn't touch her or hurt her, he desperately wanted to take up his wand and avenge his godfather's death, knowing that Bellatrix had thrown a curse that started that fire._

_ "It is simply a memory Harry," Dumbledore said simply. "Shall we go inside?"_

_ They followed the Death Eater up the path, Harry looking around as they did. The place looked familiar, but every time Harry tried to name it, the name slipped away. Bellatrix kept glancing behind her, and Harry thought she had somehow seen them, but it was the bushes she kept glaring at._

_ It clicked in Harry's mind, and his heart sank. He knew who had given this memory to Dumbledore, and he wondered whether she had guessed that Harry would be the one seeing it. It was probable, at the very least. _

_ But Dumbledore had said that it was _disturbing. _What was he about to walk into? Harry found himself looking behind him as well, but he saw nothing except a few peacocks. But when he looked back up at the house, his eyes caught a small figure standing at one of the second floor windows._

_ "I assume you have worked out where we are now Harry." Dumbledore said quietly, as Bellatrix pushed the front door open._

_ Harry could only nod, as Bellatrix walked into the foyer, him and Dumbledore darting through the door just before it shut. _

_ "I'M BACK!" Bellatrix yelled, cackling with laughter. "Tell me Cissy, do you have any rum? I would _kill _for a drink…"_

_ She pulled off her gloves and carelessly threw them aside, caring little for where they landed or what they landed upon, the same treatment going for her coat. Harry's stomach turned over when a House Elf – not Dobby, thankfully – apperated in with a quick pop, gathered up Bellatrix's gloves and coat, and quickly apperated away again._

_ "LITTLE BUGGER!" Bellatrix yelled, teeth bared. "COME OUT WHERE I CAN GET TO YOU!"_

_ The House Elf quickly re-appeared. Bellatrix drew her wand, and Harry looked away as the Elf's screams echoed through the house. He wasn't sure how long they lasted for before there was a flash of green light and they stopped abruptly._

_ "Not another one," Another, slightly higher voice said, and Harry saw Narcissa walking down the grand staircase. "That's the second one this month Bella."_

_ "You're rich," Bellatrix flicked her wand, and threw the Elf's corpse over to the side of the foyer. "Get another one."_

_ Narcissa shrugged decadently. "We have Dobby." she surmised, before clapping her hands. "Selene, your aunt is home!"_

_ Bellatrix smirked, and gripped her wand a little more tightly. "More sport." she snarled, and Harry recoiled._

_ "Harry, this is but a memory," Dumbledore repeated, jolting Harry back to the task at hand. "Look at everything. Malfoy Manor was a Death Eater base in the First Wizarding War, as you can see."_

_ As much as he wanted to, Harry couldn't pull his attention away from the small girl walking down the stairs. If he didn't know, then he wouldn't have been able to tell that it was Selene at all. This girl was a far cry to the happy, smiling, laughing woman he knew today. The only resemblance was in the eyes._

_ "Don't," Narcissa said, in a low tone to her sister. "I forbid you to touch my daughter."_

_ "Someone's got to do it Cissy." Bellatrix said loudly, cackling once again, and the young Selene flinched, hiding behind her mother. "Come to Aunty Bella little Princess!"_

_ There was a loud scream from somewhere else in the house, a scream that made Harry jump out of his skin in shock. Dumbledore glanced at Harry again, but said nothing._

_ "Lucius is on duty tonight," Narcissa continued, quite unconcerned with the screams. "I trust Rodolphus is as well."_

_ "But of course," Bellatrix smirked again, not putting her wand away. "Are you sure I can't give Selene a lesson today? Lucius never really cares?"_

_ Selene flinched again, and Bellatrix laughed, but Narcissa placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder and resolutely shook her head. "We're taking a trip to Paris tomorrow," Narcissa explained, her face a little pale. "More bruises would be a little too hard to explain away."_

_ "Ah,"_

_ This time, both Harry and Dumbledore looked at the top of the stairs, watching Voldemort look down on the scene playing out beneath him. "This is the time to pay close attention Harry." Dumbledore said levelly, and Harry had the grace to blush a little._

_ "My Lord!" Bellatrix curtseyed deeply, as did Narcissa and young Selene. "What is it that you required me for?"_

_ "I require a great service from you, Bellatrix," Voldemort said slowly, walking down the stairs himself. Narcissa moved to one side, pulling her daughter with her. "And, of course, you too Narcissa, by association."_

_ "But of course!" Bellatrix didn't look up from her curtsey, and Harry tasted a little bile in his throat. "Anything, _anything _you require, my Lord!"_

_ Voldemort cast a glance at Selene as he passed her and Narcissa, his mouth curving into a smirk. He paused his movement towards Bellatrix, and leant down towards Selene._

_ He cupped her face in one white hand, his red eyes boring into her blue. "Still so _scared,_" he said mockingly. "Quite unlike both your mother and father, I think. You certainly resemble your aunt."_

_ Bellatrix practically glowed with pride, and when Voldemort let her go Selene shrunk back behind her mother. Voldemort continued to walk towards Bellatrix, stopping a few inches from her. _

_ He produced Hephzibah's golden Hufflepuff cup from his pocket, and passed it to Bellatrix. By the looks of it, Bellatrix seemed to understand what he was passing her. "Place this in your Vault," Voldemort commanded. "Guard it with your life."_

_ "Yes," Bellatrix breathed, her eyes alight to be given such a task. "Yes… Of course…"_

_ "It's time we left Harry," Dumbledore cut in, eyes hard. "Take my arm."_

_ Harry was little confused as to why he had been told to leave so quickly, but he soon understood. Voldemort turned to Selene again, his eyes dark, and he reached for his wand. Just as Harry took Dumbledore's arm, the beginnings of a spell were forming on his lips, and just as a burst of red light filled his vision-_

Harry's stomach turned over, and he swallowed down his vomit. He knew what he would be dreaming of tonight, even as he tried to bring back pictures of Selene on her wedding day in his mind.

He tried thinking of Selene with Sirius, Selene with Fred, Selene on the day he realised he would be playing the role of bridesmaid… But all of them kept coming back to the small girl on the stairs, so scared.

Of course, Harry knew why she hadn't told him, but he was a little angry all the same. She didn't think that he didn't understand? She was wrong. He had put up with abuse from the Dursleys for close to sixteen years. If _anyone _understood, it was _him._

Harry turned the corner, and his heart sank. Normally he would be happy to see her, but again the memory came back into his mind, and he shrank away. Selene's face broke out into a smile when she saw him, but there were dark rings under her eyes and her hair was messier than usual.

"Harold!" she grinned, stopping as they met in the middle of the corridor. "Have you been to see Dumbledore?"

Harry could only nod, and Selene's eyes darkened, her face falling. Her hands went to her mouth, and she blinked.

"Oh god…" she said, swallowing. "You saw… My memory."

"Yes, yes I did," Harry inhaled, watching Selene's face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not important-"

"Hell it isn't!" Harry yelled, his anger exploding. "Selene, he _tortured _you! For _fun!_"

"I said, it isn't important," Selene repeated, her hands trembling a little. "_That _is in the past, Harry. _That _was nearly sixteen years ago. I'm fine."

Something in her tone calmed Harry a little, but he still had to close his eyes and breath steadily for a little while. "Are you going to see Dumbledore?" he asked, drawing them off that topic.

"He asked me to see him tonight," Selene explained, her hands still shaking a bit. "I think I know why now as well."

"Does Fred know?" was the next question Harry asked her.

Selene bit her lip, and nodded. "I told him ages ago," she revealed. "I… Harry-"

"That's okay," Harry managed a slightly shaky smile. "I'm sorry I flipped out, I was just a bit jumpy."

"I am _fine_," Selene insisted again, a little too forcefully. She rubbed at her eyes. "I have to go now Harry, but if you need anything-"

"I know where you are," Harry finished for her, smiling but searching Selene's eyes. He could tell she was tired, but to what extent? It wasn't just that she hadn't been sleeping well, he knew that much. But then her arms wrapped around his, and he couldn't see her face anymore.

"See ya Harold!" she grinned again as she walked away, but she turned away quicker than she normally would do on a normal day. Harry watched her go, his eyes narrowing.

He needed to tell Ron and Hermione of what he had seen, and what had just been spoken.

oOo

"Ron _really _needs to ditch Lavender and get together with Hermione," George said, leaning backwards in his chair, only to get pushed back onto four legs by Angelina, who smirked over at Selene. "Oi, Ange-"

"You're not getting concussion on my watch," Angelina said, flicking her wand at the sink to begin washing up.

Fred held one hand to his heart, and leant forward to grasp the lapels of George's jacket. "Don't go into the light Georgie!" he exclaimed melodramatically, tugging at his twin somewhat pathetically. "Don't go into the light!"

Selene smacked her husband around the head, sending a knowing look at Angelina, who was no doubt thinking the same things as she was. "He never shuts up," she said, out of the corner of her mouth.

"I use earplugs," Angelina commented, taking a sip of her wine.

"I do _not _talk all the time!" Fred and George chorused indignantly.

"Yes, you do," Selene and Angelina chorused back, sharing a smirk.

Fred shook his head sadly. "You're both suffering from Twin-itus," he explained, holding his head to Selene's forehead. "It's a rare condition, only found in cases where the other halves of twins are close friends…"

"And it also doesn't exist," Selene said, kissing Fred on the cheek. "Also, 'other halves'?"

"It's kind of neutral," George answered for Fred, sipping his wine.

"I was going to say 'soulmates'," Fred added, before looking at his twin and nodding austerely. "Ah, yes. Georgie would not have been happy."

There was a loud bang from outside, in the main Alley, and Angelina rolled her eyes. "I'll go and check," she said, moments before her boyfriend stood.

"No, _I will_," George said pompously, doing a very good impression of Percy as he walked out – his chest puffed out and his nose in the air. Selene stifled a laugh behind her hand, standing up and walking over to the cupboards.

"I'm making hot chocolate," she explained, to a curious Angelina. "Do you want any?"

"I'm fine, thank you little miss straight-edge," Angelina smirked, raising her glass of wine to Selene. "You know, one glass won't get you drunk…"

Selene just gave her friend a look as she dunked the powder into the only mug she could find – unfortunately it flashed different colours, which would probably drive her insane in due course.

George raced into the kitchen, shocking everyone in it considerably. "We need to go," he said, breathing heavily. "_Right now_."

"What's the matter?" Selene asked, abandoning her hot chocolate. "George- what's happening?"

After another loud bang, George continued. "They're going after Flourish and Blotts," he explained, running a hand through his red hair. "There're too many of them for the Aurors to take on-"

There was no need for him to talk any further, as someone inevitably flicked the switch. Angelina pushed past George, shortly followed by Selene and Fred. The front door of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes banged open, hit by a spell from a Death Eater's wand, showering the inside of the shop with splinters of wood.

"Sod's law," George muttered, pointing towards where the spells were ricocheting around. Selene noticed Dora, and Kingsley, and Mad-Eye, and stopped only to glance at Fred before moving in.

George was right, there were far too many Death Eaters for the Aurors to handle – Dora was duelling three, maybe even four, while Kingsley and Mad-Eye took on five.

There was nothing to gain from ransacking Flourish and Blotts, so their tactics confused Selene, but it was no time for wondering just what was going on.

Dora turned around as she stunned one Death Eater, her eyes meeting Selene's. She smiled quickly, and tilted her head towards the Death Eater on her left, as if to say '_Get rid of this loser for me?_'.

Selene shot a Full Body-Bind towards the assigned Death Eater, only for him to duck and the curse to rebound off a wall, sending glass flying from behind them. Dora shouted something at her, but it got lost in the wind, and the Death Eater tried to jinx her.

Angelina banished the glass from the exploded storefront to one of the Death Eaters, catching him in the chest. As his comrade fell, one of the others tried to hex her, but she ducked just in time.

George threw a Decoy Detonator at Rabastan, making a sound loud enough to wake the whole street, if they hadn't already awoken. Rabastan teetered, clutching at his ears in pain, recovering enough to shoot spell after spell at his adversary.

In the haze of the battle, Selene couldn't see clearly who she was hitting – friend or foe, and the glass shards flying around her from the rebounding curses and hexes and jinxes proved hard enough to dodge.

"USE THE BRICKS!" Dora screamed above the wind, gesturing to a destroyed wall with one hand.

Selene nodded, grabbing Fred's arm and pointing at the bricks.

Then she looked around, taking advantage of her momentary calm to take inventory. Most of Diagon Alley's inhabitants were out by now, gathered in the front of Gringotts, trying to shield themselves from the flying debris.

She spotted Angus Flourish, hiding in the open expanse of his shop. He was a Muggle-born, she was sure of it. Why else would the Death Eaters be after him? Mr Blotts was a Pureblood ex-Ravenclaw, so it wasn't him, after all. Sending one last hex at Avery's shadowed form – it hit home – Selene raced over to Flourish and Blotts, using the cover of another exploding shop to prevent being seen.

"I thought you'd never notice me," Mr Flourish coughed, waving smoke away from his face. "Made quite a show, you four did, running into the midst of this little tussle like that."

Selene managed a smile, sending _Bombarda _at the unbroken window, blowing the glass outwards. "I'm sorry," she apologised, noticing Mr Flourish's annoyed expression. "But we need to get you out of here."

"Don't you think I know that?" Mr Flourish chuckled, coughing again. "Then _get me out of here_ girl."

"Now would be a _really _good time to stun someone Fred!" Selene yelled, glimpsing a flash of red hair in her vision. "A _really _good time! Right now, in fact!"

"But of course!" Fred called back. "_Stupefy!"_

Selene waited a few moments, heard the strangled noise that one associated with a victim of the Stunning Charm, then nodded to Mr Flourish. "Just run," she said, as they stood up.

"Good luck," Mr Flourish grasped Selene's hand as the stepped out into the street, him making a break for the crowd as Selene hit Amycus Carrow right in the chest with the Bat-Bogey hex.

"We'll be okay now," Mad-Eye said, catching her aside for just long enough. "Constant vigilance."

"Constant vigilance," Selene repeated, watching as he sent a curse right into the face of the very last Death Eater.

It took a little while for the concept that it was all over to sink in, but when it did it was a welcome relief. Selene exhaled, resting her head against the wall of Flourish and Blotts, her heart beating faster than should be deemed humanly possible.

"Get up," Dora said, with a little smile as she walked over to her cousin, holding out a hand. Selene gratefully took it, and struggled upright. "I thought you'd be up north."

"We came down to see George and Ange," Selene breathed, biting her lip as she looked at the destruction. "Otherwise, yes."

"We really banged Diagon Alley up," Dora sighed, waving her wand feebly at some debris.

oOo

Katie was cleared to return to school in the middle of May, and life seemed to return to the level of normalness that it had commanded before she had been cursed. Her parents were very reluctant to allow her to return to school, but she persisted in saying that it was safe while Dumbledore was there.

Harry had spoken no more of what he had seen in Dumbledore's Pensieve, as Dumbledore had suggested to Selene when she went to see him. He corresponded with his god-cousin at least three, normally four times a week through letters as Filius gradually got more time on his hands.

Dumbledore's Army was still going strong, but as news of the attack on Flourish and Blotts spread the desperation to be battle-worthy grew, and Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves teaching the DA at least three nights a week.

Molly forced Fred and George into planning a way out of their shop if it was attacked, and Selene went over to her Aunt and Uncle's house to place the Fidelius Charm – and, after a lot of discussion, become their Secret-Keeper.

"We trust you 'Lene," Ted said, patting his niece on the shoulder. "And, anyway, we all know what's going to happen to poor buggers like me sooner or later-"

"Don't let me catch you thinking like that." Andromeda scolded, slapping Ted playfully on the shoulder. "You're going to stay here now, whatever happens. The neighbours think we've moved to Brazil." she added, to Selene.

Fred raised the question of a Fidelius Charm himself over dinner one night, and Selene rose to the challenge, going through scenario after scenario about who would be the best Secret Keeper.

"Don't even _think _about having me," George laughed dryly, when he heard their plans. "I'm the first person you'd think of, aren't I? Who else do you trust with it that isn't obvious?"

Selene sighed, pushing a hand through her messy hair and shrugging. "Fred?" she asked her husband, who was sorting paper.

"Hmm?" Fred asked, looking up and shooting Selene a grin. "What is it love?"

"I think I know who we need as our Secret Keeper," she explained, sitting up a little straighter.

"Who?"

Selene raised an eyebrow, and gestured to the letter in front of her. "Ron," she said, in a slightly questioning tone. "Who else?"

Fred blinked twice, then face palmed. "You, my dear, are a flipping genius!" he exclaimed, racing over to her and kissing her.

George raised his hand. "Okay," he began. "One: what. Two: what. Three: what?"

"Who wouldn't they expect?" Selene asked, allowing herself a smile. "Someone like Draco, or Daphne, or Astoria, naturally, but they're going to come under fire for sure. I was going to go with Oliver but he said he wants to take Katie into hiding, just in case. That leaves your family, really."

"As long as you don't ask Ginny," George said gratefully, stretching his arms above his head. "She's far too young, and I think Mum would have a thing or two to say about that."

"Mum has a thing or two to say about everything," Fred pointed out, grinning across at his twin.

"That's true," George smirked, twisting around to check on the influx of customers. "Phew, I thought there'd be more."

"Word must have got around about the Flourish and Blotts attack," Selene reasoned, looking over to where George was currently gazing. In light of some of WWW's busiest days, on which she had found herself unable to move for people, the shop was depressingly empty.

"Anyway!" Fred cut in, grabbing Selene's attention. "It's the meeting again tonight!"

"Shh!" Selene said, eyes widening. "Keep your voice down!"

Fred rolled his eyes, walking over to the open door and closing it. "Happy?" he asked, a little mockingly.

Selene ignored him, preferring instead to shift her leg under her, so she was sitting on it. "Hopefully Albus will be there this time," she volunteered, referring to the absence of their former Headmaster over the last few meetings.

"He will be!" George grinned, reaching over and ruffling up her hair. "You know _Albus_…"

"And _Severus_," Fred smirked, motioning for Selene to shift over and make room for him on her perch.

"And _Filius_,"

"And _Pomona,_"

"And _Minerva,_"

"Yes, you can be quiet now," Selene bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing as she flushed up. Fred gave up on his attempts to make her move, and instead huffed and stayed standing. "And anyway, this is _serious_,"

"Serious, Black?" Fred asked cheekily, before blanching as he realised exactly what he had said. "Oh, geez, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

Selene laughed, rolling her eyes and swallowing when the twins weren't looking. "It's okay," she said quickly. "I'm not going to… Blow up, or something, I mean…"

"Well that's good because _I'm _not going back to France," Fred covered over his earlier mistake. "At least… Hmm, 'Lene? What would you say to a holiday when this shit's all over?"

_He didn't mean it. You know he didn't._

Selene smiled, and shrugged. "_If _it's all over," she amended. "In the next few years, I'm not really sure how long this'll drag… On… The First War went on for nearly fifteen years in total, after all."

"Yes, but we have a secret weapon!" George muttered mysteriously, attempting to roll his eyes into his head. "A midget in glasses… Born in the month of _July_…"

"I will hurt you," Selene said seriously, whacking George around the head. "If the next two words you say are 'Harry Potter'."

"He's the secret weapon though," Fred pointed out, kissing Selene on the top of the head. "Even you must admit that."

Selene bit her lip, looked down at the letter from Ron that she had been attempting to read, and moved it off the top of her pile. She only had enough time to register the handwriting before she quickly covered it again, and nodded. "Yes, just don't let him hear you say that," she said, sneaking another glance at the corner of the letter. "Do you want to read Ron's letter?"

Fred grabbed it before George could, and re-opened it, moving it to a place where both he and his twin could read it. As they did, Selene stuck her nail under the envelope, tearing open the paper with a little more force than was perhaps needed.

_Selene,_

_ Your father is out of Azkaban._

_ Stay strong, my love,_

_ Your mother._

"Anything important?" Fred asked, noting the look in his wife's eyes. "'Lene?"

Selene took a deep breath, folding the note up and stowing it into her pocket. "My father's out of Azkaban." She said simply, before standing up and moving to the back window.

George opened his mouth, about to say something, when a large cat came soaring in through the wall, it's tabby markings and slightly stern expression being that of Minerva McGonagall's Animagus form.

However, when the Patronus opened its mouth, Minerva's tone was frantic, and almost pleading.

"Selene," it began, slightly breathlessly. "It's your brother."

The cat continued to talk, but Selene was already at the fireplace, grabbing the Floo Powder and throwing it into the flames, turning them a bright green. "Minerva's Office!" She yelled, and then there was silence.

oOo

"I can explain, I-" Harry began, upon seeing Selene, but she cut him off as quickly as he had begun.

"Severus told me everything," she said, eyes dark as she stared at the prone body of her brother, on the other side of the Hospital Wing. "Just… Why?"

Harry watched as Selene walked over to her brother, pulling up a chair by his bedside and wiping her cheeks with one hand. Instead of trying to justify himself, like he had done with Snape and McGonagall, he shook his head, and left the room.

When Selene heard the door close, she relaxed, the throbbing in her temples growing with every passing second. It was becoming painfully clear how much Draco had aged since she had last properly talked to him, his face was more angular and sharp, and when she smoothed his hair back she could see a strand of graying blond, hidden by his fringe.

"Oh god…" she trailed off, grasping his pale hand. "What have I done?"

"I was hoping that I'd never see you in here again, Selene," Madam Pomfrey said, walking up to the other side of Draco and applying some kind of magical paste to his wounds. "It's only been two months."

"Can I do that?" Selene blurted, looking up at the motherly matron with pleading eyes.

"Of course," Madam Pomfrey relented with no effort, which shocked Selene. She was well versed to the matron's stern techniques, having experienced them with Fred firsthand. Smiling sadly over at Selene, Madam Pomfrey passed her the pot of the magical paste. "Just apply it in a circular motion, over Mr Malfoy's wounds."

She hovered for a second, like she was about to say something else, but she only offered a small nod. Madam Pomfrey seemed to trust Selene, as her door closed a few seconds later.

Selene exhaled as she pushed away one of Draco's bandages, pressing her hand to the cut to stop it bleeding as she applied the paste with the other. She got a good sniff of the stuff as she did, and Selene couldn't help but smile.

"Murtlap Essence," she stated. "See Draco, the Herbology lessons paid off."

The paste seemed to stem the bleeding, so Selene moved on, not taking her eyes off the careful rise and fall of her brother's chest. "I can't believe Harry would do anything like this," she continued, her breathing speeding up momentarily. "I love him like a brother, I really do, and I worry about him… As well, but _why-_"

Selene paused in her ministrations, just long enough to push up Draco's left sleeve and check on his Mark. Its activeness shocked her – the snake was curling _around _his entire arm, the tongue flicking in and out every few seconds. Her fingers brushed it, but even in his induced sleep Draco flinched.

"What have they done to you?" Selene asked, tears rising to her eyes as she carefully pulled his sleeve down again. "Oh god…"

_It should be me._

Pushing that thought away, Selene continued to apply the Murtlap, pausing only to look back up at Draco's face, or push his hair back off his face. All thoughts of her mother's letter were pushed out of her mind, any thoughts of the Fidelius Charm were completely banished.

She wiped one hand on the towel on Draco's bedside table, leaving a trail of blood behind. She half-expected Madam Pomfrey to come bustling in, but… Nothing happened.

"I'm not going anytime soon Drake," Selene smiled half-heartedly. "You really hate that nickname, don't you?"

He didn't answer, not that Selene expected him to. With a sigh, she set the now empty pot to one side, and smoothed down Draco's hair again.

"I love you," she said, moving her eyes away from her brother and towards Madam Pomfrey's office. "And I swear, I will do anything I can to save you."


	82. Chapter 81: Hope Comes From Death

**I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG!**

**Thank you to Ali the Retiever, Maiannaise, bellatrixD, littlelapwing, Just Another Netflixer, sarahmichellegellarfan1, xSiriuslyInsanex (x2!), Guest, Scout Out (x2!), dumblesbashing and a second Guest!**

**To the second Guest… Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I can't always update fast. I try to apologise enough and most people understand. This is the first time anyone's effectively been this mean about it. I have exams coming up, and it's taking me all my free time, just about. I have to cram to get writing in. So, please, if you don't like slow updating, stop reading, or maybe review under a username, so I can explain in more detail.**

**On a happier note… I PASSED 100k VIEWS!**

**Please review this chapter… Can I get ten?**

_"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." - Closing Time by Semisonic  
_

Chapter 81: Hope Comes From Death

"DUCK!"

A spell went spiraling over Tonks's head, missing her by mere millimeters. Charlie nodded at her, once, before he sent a Stunning Spell at one of the Werewolf pack, hitting the creature right in the chest.

Tonks looked up at the sky, wincing when she saw the fullness of the moon, coupled with the cloudless sky. The Werewolves would be extra vicious, this close to a full moon. It was only due to luck that it wasn't a full moon this night.

She yelled this fact at her partner, keeping a careful eye on the Werewolf pack all the time. But Charlie didn't respond – and, as he was just out of sight of Tonks, she crept slowly upwards from her hiding place to check on him.

There were no Werewolves surrounding him, in fact, no Werewolves were in sight when she looked in that direction.

"Where have they gone?" she asked, relaxing her defensive stance as she paused, and looked around. "Charlie?'

Charlie shrugged, running one hand through his hair and leaning closer to the ground, as if he was trying to sniff the scent that the Werewolf pack had made. "I have no idea," he admitted, glancing back over towards his friend and shrugging again.

Tonks turned around, and when she saw only inky blackness stretching out it's fingers behind her as well, she finally moved over to Charlie, still worried but curious at the same time. "They just… vanished," she stated blindly, picking her way through the burnt undergrowth – the fallout from the forest fire that had raged there barely an hour before.

"Gold star for observation," Charlie responded dryly, wiping a streak of soot off his face. "What do you think happened then? You're the professional here."

"From what Remus said," Tonks ignored the feeling in her stomach that stirred when she mentioned Remus's name. "This pack was working for Voldemort – maybe he called them somewhere?"

Charlie nodded, slightly distracted. "That would make sense…" he trailed off, noting a notable mark in the grass before straightening up. He pointed at the mark, which seemed to lead into nowhere. "That backs your theory up."

"We'd better get back to HQ and tell them," Tonks said, stretching out and glancing at her hands when she felt a stab of pain. "Oh, just my luck. A bloody splinter."

"Aww…" Charlie pulled a face at her. "Does ickle baby Dora want a plaster?"

Tonks scowled, and yanked the piece of wood out of her finger. "Shut up," she muttered, scrunching up her face and willing her hair to change, just in case.

About a week ago, she had awoken with bright yellow hair, rather than the mouse-brown she had grown accustomed to after so long. It had faded back to brown after a matter of moments, however, but Tonks had started to gather hope that it might mark the beginning of her powers returning to her.

She kept her face scrunched up until a headache had formed in her mind, before she finally gave up. "Come on," she said quickly, ignoring Charlie's pitying expression. "We'd better let Mad-Eye know."

They were just about to Apparate back to the safe spot – a spot hidden in the trees in the park across from Grimmauld Place – when a Patronus soared through the night sky, flying towards them. Tonks pulled her wand out of her pocket again instantaneously, not even relaxing when she saw the Patronus of Mad-Eye, someone she knew that she could trust implicitly.

"Hogwarts," Mad-Eye's Patronus said, speaking in Moody's gruff tones that were well known to all the Order. "Come quickly. We're fighting."

The Patronus evaporated into thin air, leaving Charlie and Tonks behind in a thick, shocked silence. "Shit," Charlie summed up both their feelings in a single word. "What's happened?"

"I bet that's why the Werewolves disappeared so quickly," Tonks nodded, her shock being replaced by grim resolution. "Come on then, if we're fighting then we need to go and help."

Charlie could only nod, especially as Tonks disappeared with only a pop to signify her leaving, and he was left to mutter a curse and follow her.

oOo

"Are you _sure _you don't need any help Molly?" Selene asked, for the umpteenth time, as Molly flicked her wand at some empty pots and pans that were lying in the sink.

"It'll only be a few more minutes dear," Molly turned around and patted her daughter-in-law's cheek fondly. "Why don't you go and talk to Angelina?"

Selene couldn't help but smile. "Arthur's showing her his shed," she laughed, ignoring Molly's protests as she walked back over to the table, gathering up the things for the wedding. "Fleur wants to go all out, I guess," she added, as she noted all the lists, carefully written out in fluid French calligraphy.

"Don't feel bad dear," Molly cut in sternly. "It was a shock on it's own to hear that Fred was going to be married, but I was almost sure that he'd want to elope-"

Selene felt a pair of arms move around her waist, and she leaned back into her husband, who kissed the top of her head tenderly. "Oh, Mum," he said, causing Molly to turn around. "You don't know me very well-"

"Don't bother lying to me Fred," his mother responded, shaking her head at him. "Selene, dear, you can go and sit down, Fred – you're helping me."

"It's fine!" Selene said, yet again, biting back a grin at Fred's annoyed expression. "Molly-"

"Oh, okay," Molly sighed, smiling herself as she flicked her tea towel at them. "Both of you, go and sit down, I can managed, and after all – it'll only be a little while longer.

Fred grinned down at Selene, slowly guiding them backwards into the front room, only to hit his head on the doorframe.

"Never walk backwards again," Selene whispered to him, disentangling his hands from her and skirting around him, grinning as she saw a very bored-looking George sitting on the sofa, his feet up on the coffee table and a cushion in his left hand. "Been hitting yourself with that?"

George looked up suddenly, throwing the cushion at her face. "No," he said, smirking at Fred's pained expression when he walked in. "What have _you _been doing?"

"Trying to walk backwards," Fred winced, and Selene silently shook with laughter. "Oi, I didn't see you complaining."

"Group hug!" George yelled, completely out of the blue, leaping off the sofa and running towards Selene, throwing her backwards into Fred with the sheer force of his running jump.

"Bkumph," Fred tried to complain, but as his mouth was somewhat covered by his twin brother's sweater.

"What's the matter?" Selene laughed, wrapping one arm around George and one arm around Fred, like George seemed to want her to do. "What's the special occasion?"

George just grinned brightly, squeezing Fred and Selene tightly, knocking the air out of her stomach. "Nothing much," he bluffed, still looking extremely pleased. "Actually, Freddie, you know…"

"Oh, that!" Fred seemed to be able to talk now, thankfully, as the wool his mother used to make jumpers didn't taste very nice. "Tell her then, so she doesn't just stand here being crushed by both of us."

"I've decided to…" George trailed off, sparing a glance at his twin.

"What?" Selene asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Tell me…"

"I'm going to ask Angelina to marry me."

Selene squeaked, throwing her other arm around George as well, knocking the air out of his lungs in return. "That's great!" she gushed, her head spinning a little. "Oh gosh…"

"You'll still have to share us, of course," George smirked, patting Selene on the head. "You won't get out of twin-sitting duties that easily."

Selene smiled up at him, her mind flashing back to that day, that little moment on the roof of Grimmauld Place. She was right, she only saw George as a friend. And, like George had requested, they had never spoken of it.

Maybe he was thinking of it too, because he half-smiled and raised an eyebrow at her. Fred rolled his eyes, separating them quickly. "That's enough," he said sternly, slipping his hand into Selene's possessively. "You have a soon to-be fiancée now Georgie boy, you can leave my wife alone."

As Fred turned away, George winked once at Selene. Molly walked in at that moment, and the twins both looked up, evidently expecting that their food was ready. But, instead of a smile and a reprimand to remind them all to wash their hands, they received only the figure of their father walking in after Molly, followed by a grim-looking Angelina.

All thoughts of George's impending proposal went out of their minds as Arthur spoke. "Hogwarts," he said hoarsely, his voice wavering in and out of focus. "We're fighting."

oOo

This was the first proper Battle that the Order had faced as one. Everyone was there – from Oliver to Kingsley, Angelina and the Weasley family. In the absence of Albus – where was he? Selene wasn't sure, but it was worrying her – Mad-Eye was giving out orders.

"Kingsley, Remus, we'll take the corridors," he said, nodding at Dora, who had flung a spell at an approaching Death Eater. "Selene, you go with Emmaline and Hestia and help the teachers get the students out. The less casualties we have the better."

He may have said something further, but at that moment a black figure spiraled, seemingly out of nowhere, down towards the gathered Order, and they scattered. Fred grabbed Selene's wrist and yanked her towards him, pressing a kiss to her lips for a split second, before winking and pushing her out of the way, towards where Emmaline Vance and Hestia Jones had begun to retreat.

"Don't die," he said, half-jokingly, half-sincerely. Selene returned the compliment, but she had to run, as she could definitely see the dark figure of Fenrir Greyback poising at the top of the Grand Staircase.

She had met Emmaline and Hestia a few times before, but as they were older than her and had been classmates at Hogwarts, Selene had never had much cause to talk to them. They were nice all the same, however, and Hestia seemed to be a good leader in her own right.

"Professor McGonagall said they were currently holding the students in the dungeons to keep them safe," she said, looking around them at the mercifully empty corridor. They could hear the sounds of spells in the distance, but there wasn't a whole lot of Death Eaters around here, in this area.

"Something's not right," Emmaline stated, brow furrowed, speaking the words that Selene was thinking inwardly. "I would have thought at least one Death Eater would have been after us…"

Selene checked her watch, taking note at the time before looking up. "I need to go and find someone," she said slowly, trying to keep the panic out of her tone. "I promise I won't take very long, and-"

"We'll be fine," Emmaline said quickly, giving Selene a nod. The Order were well aware of Selene's unique position in their ranks, and they all knew well of what she knew in the way of information on both sides of the war. Emmaline probably guessed what was Selene's main reason for leaving so quickly, and Hestia didn't contest it.

"Thank you," Selene answered, flashing them both the best smile she could summon in the circumstances. "I really… Won't be long…"

She turned away from Hestia and Emmaline as they ran down to the dungeons, and took a deep breath. She had an idea as to where Draco might be, and she needed to get there quickly, before anyone else did.

In the end, she only had to search for close to three minutes until she found her little brother, waiting outside the Room of Requirement. He must have been waiting for her. After all, what she had said to him after he had woken up in the Hospital Wing…

_Whatever happens now, I promise that I will be there for you._

He didn't even turn around as she approached. "I can't," Draco said, as she neared him. "Before you think to ask."

Selene bit her lip, and waited until her brother had turned to face her to speak. "At least _tell me_," she pleaded, the question that had been at the back of her mind for far too long but had not been spoken until this moment. "What did Voldemort ask you to do?"

"I have to kill Dumbledore," Draco blurted, his face a ghostly pale imitation of white. "I have to murder a man in cold blood."

Selene's blood ran cold, and the colour rushed out of her face. Her stomach churned and turned over as she quietly contemplated how her brother – her _brother _– had been living with… With _that _for too goddamn long.

And that was the moment when their lives came full circle. Selene, the girl that had risen from the lowest, saddest, most scared childhood a child could have, growing up to be the woman with the adoring husband and the laughter-filled days and the protection of hundreds that would stand in front of her.

Draco, the boy that had grown up being sheltered from the horrors of the world from his sister and mother, the boy that knew only kindness and grandeur and splendour. The world had caught up with him soon enough. And now he was a mere shell of the Draco Lucius Malfoy that had come before. But that was the work of the Death Eaters and their father.

People rise, and then fall. It never stops coming and going. But Draco and Selene were siblings, and blood runs thicker than water. So they both laid the pressure on themselves for the other's position.

Maybe it was that that made Selene grab her brother's arm. "We're getting out of here," she said, with the same quiet authority that Katie had thought showed signs of a great leader. "You're coming with me, Draco. And you're going to be safe."

Draco shook his head, wrenching his arm out of his sister's grasp. "I'm not a fourteen year-old anymore," he said coldly. "I don't need your help, your protection. You're going to get yourself killed one day."

They didn't know that they were just playing out a scene that was well known to the Black and Malfoy families. Because, after all, what goes around comes around, just like the fortunes of Selene and Draco.

Selene opened her mouth, grabbing her brother's wrist again, but then someone stepped out of the shadows. He said something, and a jet of red light spiraled out of the end of his wand, and hit Selene in the stomach.

oOo

Everyone is unique.

Many like to pretend this fact is false, however. They will go out of their way to pretend that they aren't so, they will dye and cut their hair, they will change the very souls of their beings to mould themselves into someone else.

But, in the end, we are all unique. And no one knew this better than Fred and George Weasley.

Sure, they looked the same, apart from the tiny differences – Fred had more freckles, George had a tiny scar on the top of his head from where he fell out of a tree as a kid and a mole on his neck – but, inside, they were different.

George watched his twin, instead of watching the corridor. Fred was the one that had the pleasure of being able to forget about real life. Pretty thankfully, all things considered. He did have the girlfriend with the tendency to panic quite a lot.

In nineteen years, he had no recollection of ever having a problem with his twin. The closest thing to a rift between them had been the Angelina fiasco in their fifth and sixth years, but that had sorted out in due course. Maybe with his intervention, but Fred couldn't complain. He had got his soulmate, and George had got the girl he'd loved since third year.

He had no idea what he'd do without his twin.

oOo

When she awoke, Selene was in near blind darkness. She was gripped by panic for a second, before a sliver of moonlight caught her attention and she relaxed somewhat.

The world was dark enough without her now going blind.

She sat up, biting back a groan from the pain in doing so. It felt like someone had tried to bludgeon her to death with a Muggle garden spade, the type that Arthur kept for the Burrow's garden. Her back felt like it was going to cave in itself, but it didn't, so Selene stood up, grabbing the wall for support.

She could hear voices, coming from the open expanse not far in front of her, and she moved towards them, her body screaming at each movement. It felt so… Odd, she guessed the appropriate word would be. It was like all her muscles were tensing up, as one. Looking down to her left leg, she saw the cause, and blanched.

Evidently, something had happened to her leg when she had been out.

"Do it!" a deadly familiar voice was almost crooning, but there was a hint of panic to the man's tone. Selene limped out into the moonlight, and let that man's gaze rest upon her.

A pang of something, right in the middle of her hear, rang, but Selene tries to ignore it. Whatever this criminal was to her, he was _not _family. He was _not _her father. He had never acted like Arthur Weasley did to his children, and yet…

No. She had made her choice.

Draco's eyes met hers, his dark, hers dark, both for different reasons. _I'm sorry_, he seemed to be saying, and everything, from the short discussion to the jet of red light, came back to Selene in a mad rush that left her breathless and struggling for breath.

"Selene," her father was saying, his pleading eyes now fixed on her. Selene looked around her, at their surroundings. Kingsley was being held back by Yaxley and old Mr Nott, and Snape was lurking, just within her vision. But Albus Dumbledore was there, standing dangerously close to the edge.

She opened her mouth, to warn him, but then Albus shook his head deftly, and Selene's attention snapped back to Lucius, in time to see her father begin to talk once more.

"Please," he continued, holding out a pale, slightly trembling hand in her direction. "Selene, please. Come with me."

His hand didn't waver, however much it trembled, and Selene found herself looking at it, her breathing getting more and more unsteady. She looked up to Severus, who just stared at back at her wordlessly. Lucius took a step forward. Selene held her ground.

"We need you," her father added, saying the words with a sad finality. "You have no idea how much."

Selene swallowed, taking a step forward, even though she was screaming at herself inwardly. What was happening? She felt no feelings towards this empty shell of a man that was supposed to be her father. He had made no attempts to forgive her after that day at the Manor, unlike her mother and Draco. He had allowed her to be psychologically abused by her aunt and a mental link to be placed between her and Lord Voldemort. He had tried to hand her over at seventeen to be married to someone two years her junior. He wasn't her father, if he had ever been.

But… The truth was…

"STUPEFY!" someone screamed, and Lucius fell backward, his face frozen. Selene jumped backwards, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end and her heart missing a couple of beats. Yaxley looked like he wanted to move, but Severus gave him a look.

Harry raced up the steps, just as Draco abandoned his staring at his sister and flicked his wand at Albus. Albus's wand fell out of his hands, but the man himself did nothing. Selene blinked at her brother, who had begun to tremble, all over.

"You don't have to do this," she said, in a low tone, intending for only her brother to hear. "Please, Draco."

There was complete silence, except for the wind. Selene regained control of her breathing, pushing an unwanted presence out of her mind. But it kept coming back, stronger and stronger and stronger again, before the presence broke her walls down and echoed a single thought inside of her mind.

Severus pushed Draco out of the way, and Harry moved forward. But he was too slow, and Severus Snape, the man that had taught her how to defend her mind, the man that had worked alongside her to figure out Katie's curse…

"Avada Kedavra," he said, in a stony tone, and Selene's heart dropped as Albus Dumbledore was caught in the chest, his body falling backwards, breaking through the railing and…

Falling.

oOo

Selene couldn't talk, even if she had wanted to. Her mind was mourning, her body was burning, and her heart was aching for the loss of a father and a brother, all in the space of five minutes.

She was grateful that she could see Bill and Fleur from here, comforting one another. Mrs Weasley had just seen the extent of her new daughter-in-law, and she seemed oddly content.

When the twins walked in, bringing their father, Fred paused for only a moment to check on his older brother before moving over to Selene, taking the unoccupied spot beside her and silently wrapping his arms around her shoulders, holding her close to him. She still said nothing, just responding by resting her head against his chest, listening to the gentle beat of his heart through his shirt.

No one seemed to know what had happened on the Tower. The main attraction seemed to Bill, and rightly, but Selene knew that it was wrong, all so very wrong. Because Dumbledore was dead, the only man that stood between the Order and a deadly world.

"He's dead," Harry was saying, and Selene buried her face in Fred's shirt. "Dumbledore's dead. Snape killed him."

The atmosphere, tense already, cracked in two. Selene let out a sob, wrapping her arms around Fred's waist. She could just see Fleur, beginning to silently sob from where she was sitting next to Bill's bed. Mrs Weasley had gone deathly pale. Mr Weasley's hands were trembling.

Selene closed her eyes, and sobbed again.

"You were there, weren't you?" Fred asked her, in an undertone. Selene just nodded into his chest, not trusting herself to speak.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there, but when she looked up again, hazy from breathing in the familiar scent of mingled gunpowder and vanilla, it was dark outside.

"Come on," Fred said quietly, elbowing her slightly. "We're going to stay over here tonight, if that's okay?"

"Where?" Selene asked, in a voice cracked from crying and lack of water.

"In the lake," Fred said, quite seriously. "Apparently the Giant Squid's been getting quite lonely lately. Do you remember when I tried to seduce it?"

Selene didn't laugh, but she looked up into her husband's eyes with as much thankfulness as she could. It was definitely why she loved him – if she had to place one definable characteristic.

And maybe he understood, because when he kissed her it conveyed everything a kiss could, Love, and commitment, and most of all…

Hope.


	83. Chapter 82: Don't Try

**TODAY (MAY 6****th****) IS THE ONE-YEAR BIRTHDAY OF THIS STORY! OH MY GOLLY GOSH! **

**Just to give you some perspective, this story began under the title 'I Will Love You For Forever'. It was my first ever story, now I am on 75 stories. I got my first review three chapters in, now I'm on over 600 reviews.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me over the last year! I love writing this story, and I hope you'll all read my other ones once this is done and dusted XD**

**Thank you to Scout out, Just Another Netflixer, HT118, dumblesbashing, bellatrixD, Guest (a ha thank you XD), Hibah360, littlelapwing, Guest (nah, sorry, I just don't think I'm ready to write that kind of stuff yet), Ali the retriever (oh, it's fine, don't worry! Take your time, don't rush it! Thanks for the praise and I promise Severus will get his reward soon XD) and SparrowLilies!**

**Thank you again for you all and your praise and your reading and GAH I LOVE YOU ALL PLEASE ACCEPT MY UNDYING GRATITUDE!**

_"And I have finally realised, what you mean." - Madness by Muse_

Chapter 82: Don't Try

There was a specific pecking order in Voldemort's band of Death Eaters.

The man at the top was, of course, Voldemort himself, watching his supporters and followers fall to their knees in front of him and squabble like toddlers among each other.

After that, the lines tended to get a little blurry. Bellatrix prided herself in the fact that she knew _exactly_ where her place was: at her Dark Lord's side, dressed in black, relishing in the screams of her victims. The Black family would always be the highest in favour, no matter how much they normally prided themselves in their transparent neutrality.

There was a long, dark list of descendants that had broken the mould, of course. Every family had them, every family had those large, ominous burn scars on their family tapestries where once dwelled carefully drawn portraits. Bellatrix herself burnt the treacherous face of her own sister off; she remembered the cackling laughter and the smell of searing cloth.

She could smell that cloth, even now. Or maybe that was down to the sadistic nature of the way in which she had strolled right past her cousin's charred corpse and right to the Black family tapestry.

Bellatrix let the corners of her mouth turn up into a smirk. She closed her eyes, and pictured the way in which she had pressed the tip of her wand to the picture of her niece.

"I swear," she had said, her mouth a closed line as a bubble of laughter welled up inside her. "That you will someday know true unhappiness."

The laughter had escaped, and then she had screamed the curse, the dark burn engulfing her cousin's picture, until only a dark hole remained.

It wasn't enough, the picturing, and the burning. Bellatrix knew that the thirst for Selene Malfoy's blood ran in her veins, that it would cost more than Selene's mere mortal life to bring satisfaction to that hunger. No, she had a wealth of horror in store for her.

If Selene were a Death Eater, than they would be assured victory. But she wasn't, she was a _fucking _Order member, surrounded by idiots and laughter and a whole lot of death to come in the future.

Bellatrix tapped her forefingers together thoughtfully, cackling with laughter as she looked around at the table. Her idea would be put forward, and that idea would be acted upon, seeing as she was the Dark Lord's most faithful companion. Draco – her less traitorous nephew – cowered back a little, but that only made her laugh harder.

Little _pussy. _Didn't he know what was going to happen? Destruction, and death, and it was all going to be fucking _beautiful. _Bellatrix would laugh as her niece cried, and then cast the deathblow in as slow a way as she could.

Her fingers tapped her silver knife, strapped to her thigh, thoughtfully. She had several ideas for permanent scars that she was going to inflict on certain people, and her hands were itching to carve them into actual skin, rather than the wooden walls of her husband's manor house. She craved the pain, and the suffering…

"Draco…" The Dark Lord hissed, and Bellatrix smirked, her fingers drifting to tap on the table as she regarded her young nephew – 1, 2, 3, 4. "The time had come for your punishment."

Here it was. Bellatrix's little idea, in all its glory. In technicolour. Her Dark Lord leant forward, Nagini slithering at his feet as Narcissa clutched her son's hand. Bellatrix subdued another cackle – her sister knew nothing, _nothing. _Draco may have fallen, but if he were to complete this trivial task then he would rise higher than ever before.

"P-please…" Lucius spoke up, beginning to beg for his son's pathetic life. "S-spare, spare Draco…"

Voldemort affixed Lucius with a cool stare. "_Crucio_," he said idly, flicking his wand at Malfoy. Instantly Lucius began to scream as his body curled up, every muscle in his body on fire… Bellatrix laughed with the beauty of it all.

"Lucius…" Voldemort hissed, still showing no emotion. "You are foolish… Draco was, born to far greater things than a traitor's death. No, he is to be given a final chance, of sorts."

"Thank you, my Lord…"

Bellatrix let rip another throaty chuckle. Did the idiot know what he was doing? Of course not, what was she kidding? This was Lucius fucking Malfoy. He would save his son, but for what price?

"Draco, you are to kill another," Voldemort said smoothly, as if Lucius had never interrupted. "Someone who is of great personal interest to you."

Draco's scared eyes blinked. Voldemort smirked, and spread his pale arms wide.

"Your sister," he said, deathly quietly.

Bellatrix laughed again, the pure euphoria of such a splenderously _Ravenclaw _tactic setting off her neurons left right and centre. It was what _Selene _would think of, something this complicated and tangled and potentially disastrous.

She could see it in Draco's eyes – he would not be able to do that. Kill his sister? The first to ever show him pure kindness, the girl who wiped his nose and cleaned his cuts and read to him at night? No, he couldn't do that.

And so, this would be where the fun would begin.

oOo

"Albus Dumbledore was a good man- no, a great man…"

"I can't stay here," Daphne said, tugging up a patch of grass and squashing it into a ball of green in her palm. "Half of Slytherin House has gone, and as soon as school breaks up my mother will take me to join Lord Voldemort."

Selene stared at her hands, at the scars she now carried. The newest was a long scratch, along the length of her thumb and up half her hand. It made the new mark a lot more bearable to think that Fred had an identical one now, up the length of his back.

His fingers had traced all her scars, and she was no longer self-conscious of them. His lips had kissed them, and she had loved them. But it was the mental scars that ran deepest for her, and no amount of caresses could mend them.

"I can help you," she said slowly, in an undertone. "But you are going to have to trust me, and trust Harry, and trust Fred."

Daphne nodded. "Whatever it takes," she said, suddenly, after a pause. "Astoria doesn't deserve this life. She joined the DA, and I couldn't stop her. But when I saw her dueling with Hermione…" Daphne trailed off, and sighed. "She was properly _fighting._"

Selene clenched her fist up again, and rested her head in her palm with her other hand. "I don't know what to do," she admitted. "I was on the Astronomy Tower when… When it happened, and Draco… He's gone."

Daphne nodded, letting go of the grass and letting it fall to the ground as she noticed someone approaching. "Does your husband know?" she asked quickly.

Selene nodded, and turned around, relaxing when she saw Fred rather than the host of other people she had been imagining. "It's fine," she said quietly, standing up quickly. "I'll tell Harry to pass on a message later."

"You okay?" Fred asked, glancing towards Daphne for a few moments before wrapping his arm around Selene's waist. "Mum said she wants to go home, I was going to go too and help her-"

"No, no, it's fine," Selene smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll be fine, I just wanted to talk to Harry for a moment, I'll be… A bit later…"

Fred kissed her, before pulling away and smiling. "See ya later then 'Leney," he grinned. "Don't fall in love with anyone while I'm gone, hmm?"

"That joke has got less and less funny the more times you say it," Selene laughed. "Do you even need to ask that?"

"I stand on my conviction that we are going on one hell of a holiday once this shit is all over," Fred smirked. "Oh, did I tell you?"

Selene rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "What is it now?" she asked, with a slightly exasperated sigh.

"Remember when I mentioned being able to expand our premises?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, we just got an offer from the old Zonko's owner. Two thousand Galleons, and its ours."

"There's a huge Vault in Gringotts which technically belongs to you as well, _Lord Black_," Selene sighed again. "You know, there's no getting away from that bloody title."

"Well, _Lady Black_," Fred swept her a mock bow, keeping his eyes locked on hers all the time. "I would be privileged indeed to have your extensive fortune funding my endevours."

"Yep, that's enough," Selene exhaled, tapping him on the shoulder. "Definitely enough. I'll see you soon, _Freddie._"

"You know, I've been thinking of names for our kids," Fred continued, obliviously blind to the time he was taking up. "I was thinking _Elvendork-_"

"_Go_," Selene reiterated, rolling her eyes. As Fred began to walk away, she called after him: "And _no!_"

He only smirked in response, sweeping her another deep bow. Selene silently groaned, before turning back to the lake, where Daphne had been sat just moments before. But, of course, she had gone.

Selene looked back over the remaining people from the funeral, a deep, sad feeling settling in the depths of her stomach. The Weasleys were gathered, over close to where the mounted stage had been, and as she was watching Charlie looked up, and tipped her a nod.

She returned it, before looking over in the other direction, searching for any sign of Harry.

A huge pain began to pound on the side of Selene's head, making her stagger. An ominous voice joined the pain, and a bright white light flashed in front of her. "It's happening again," she told herself, her breathing speeding up. "Oh god…"

Who was she kidding? Voldemort would never let her go, he would break down what little walls she had left before killing her. He was probably laughing at her right now, laughing at her pain and dizziness. It was…

It wasn't getting any better. Selene checked her watch – wherever Harry was, he could wait. It was time she took some advice.

oOo

"Lady Black," Borgin seemed decidedly surprised to see Selene walk through his shop's front door, and he quickly tucked something out of her sight. "This is… An unexpected surprise."

Selene managed a flicker of a smile, and turned to the cabinet that had once held the cursed necklace. Just as she had guessed, it was empty. "I have a request," she said suddenly, looking back towards the old man.

"What will you pay me?" Borgin asked, rubbing his hands together and bringing his eyeglass to his right eye. "The prices around here aren't cheap, especially not now."

Selene took a deep breath, and took the artifact out of her coat pocket, a quick grab from the Black Family Vault. She had managed to get Bill to take her down – which was one of the privileges of being married to his younger brother – and so the queues of increasingly anxious people didn't bother her.

The paintings that were hung in there made her even more on edge than normal, so she had walked in, grabbed the sparkliest, shiniest object she could see in a few moments, and walked straight back out again.

Her stomach was turning over in an unpleasant manner, but she held out the object to Borgin, who was interested at once. "I know you deal in Dark Magic," she said, once Borgin had accepted the artifact.

"Hmm?" Borgin looked up, and nodded. "Yes, yes, that's true… Pure gold, goblin-made… This is worth a fortune!"

Selene waved a hand. "That's not important," she dismissed. "I need your help."

Borgin sighed, and placed down the plate. "With an object such as this," he spread his hands wide, smiling with black teeth. "You are assured of my confidentiality."

"I need you to look at my mind," Selene explained, her voice wavering slightly. She couldn't bring herself to go to see Mad-Eye, but Borgin seemed like the _bad choice. _"I'm not sure what the matter is, but I've been unable to use Occlumency."

It was indescribably risky telling Borgin of that, but what choice did she have?

Borgin pulled his eyeglass off. "That's some dark magic," he smirked, but he walked around the side of the front desk until he was stood in front of her. Selene tried not to flinch as his freezing fingers tapped either side of her temple, his dark eyes boring into hers with malicious intent. But then his eyes flickered shut.

They stood there for a while longer, in silence, until Selene spoke. "Can you help me?" she asked quietly, biting her lip.

Borgin's eyes snapped open, and his fingers flew away from her head. He looked scared – terrified even. "Yes," he said curtly, walking briskly over to his desk and pulling open a drawer, producing a dusty bottle full of an unmarked liquid. He passed it to her. "Drink this, it should subdue the headaches… I can do nothing more."

Selene uncorked the bottle warily, sniffing the mist-like substance that was being emitted from the liquid before taking a sip. It tasted like her throat was on fire, being burnt by the force of thousands of dragons at once, but she forced the rest of it down her throat. "Thank you," she said quietly, holding onto the side of the desk for support as the world spun around her.

"I can't refuse business from a Black," Borgin sighed, before turning back to the gold plate.

He waited until the girl had closed the front door behind her, the bell jingling in the breeze created by the motion, before looking up again. He put the plate to one side – it was nothing, truly nothing. Precious, yes, but he was to be paid handsomely for his actions.

Borgin pulled a dirty scrap of parchment out of his desk, and picked up a quill, a wide grin spreading over his face.

_I've given her the Potion._

He placed the parchment into an equally grubby envelope, and clicked his fingers for one of his owls.

It was only when the Screech Owl had flown off, out of the window that Borgin let himself laugh.

oOo

"Got any… Fives?"

"Go fish."

Selene closed the front door behind her, raising an eye at Hermione and Ginny, who were sitting in the living room. "Hey," she greeted, rubbing her head with one hand. It was still throbbing, but it had subsided a little since she had stopped off at the flat – Angelina had barely asked any questions.

"Hey Selene," Ginny grinned. "You okay now? Fred said you were a bit ill this morning."

"I just have a headache, that's all." Selene smiled, running a hand through her hair. "How are you? I thought you'd be with your Mum and Dad, Hermione."

"Since school was let out early, I thought I'd spend a bit of time here," Hermione explained simply. She narrowed her eyes and Selene rubbed her head again. "Are you sure that you're okay Selene?"

"I swear, I am fine," Selene took a deep breath, and walked through to the kitchen.

Fred looked up from where he was talking to Charlie, and smiled as he saw Selene. "You okay now love?" he asked, leaning against the side and watching as she walked over to him.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Selene laughed, grinning at Charlie, who chuckled in response. "I'm just tired Fred, trust me on that."

"Well, I need to go and say bye to Mum," Charlie said suddenly, stretching his arms above his head. "I'm going back to the reserve tonight," he explained, in answer to Selene's curious look. "Just until the wedding, I miss my dragons."

"You'll miss your dragon here," Fred winked, and Selene looked up at him. "Ah, can I tell her?"

"If you do I will stop you two ever having kids," Charlie replied nonchalantly. "Well, I will see you soon _Sellie. _Give my love to the Dora and Remus duo."

Selene smiled widely. In her opinion, the only good thing to have come out of the last two weeks was the wildly excited Dora that had grabbed her the day after the Battle. She had tried to give Selene a blow-by-blow account of how her and Remus's night had gone, but Selene managed to dissuade her.

Remus seemed truly happy with Dora, and he hadn't mentioned his and Selene's argument when he had seen her. In fact, he had hugged her, and told her that 'Sirius would be proud'.

"See ya soon Charley Bear," Selene smirked, giving her brother-in-law a huge hug. "Keep it in your pants, I don't think Molly would like part-dragons for grandchildren."

Charlie rolled his eyes and ruffled Selene's hair. "What have you done to her?" he asked Fred, before walking away, chuckling all the while.

"I love you," Fred grinned. "That was _funny, _give yourself a big gold star."

Selene rolled her eyes, kissing him. "Was that a compliment, Mr Weasley?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Perhaps," Fred winked.


	84. Chapter 83: Feels Like War

**Hey again! I'm sorry I kind of disappeared, but I had exams to do and grades to achieve. I just have my History exam left, and that's tomorrow. And I got my Biology grade back – a B – so I think the time off was worth it :)**

**So… Thank you to bellatrixD, Zee-licious, HT118, Batrice Chahine, SparrowLilies and SlythendorGirl.**

**Oscar, Hannah and George are actually actual people I know, by the way. I just picked people at random from my Chemistry class on Tuesday. All of the personalities described and actions are real. Probably.**

**So… I don't own Harry Potter! And enjoy this chapter – please give me feedback, I really crave it XD**

_"Is this the end of us or just the means to start again?" - A Love Like War by All Time Low  
_

Chapter 83: Feels Like War

Dora knew that she shouldn't, but she knew that this war had been one of the best things to happen to her. If she closed her eyes, she could still see her cousin's grey eyes smirking at her happily, but in real life Sirius had never been… Happy.

Maybe now he was with his best friend, maybe now he was away from everything, maybe now Sirius was happy?

But that, of course, brought her onto Remus. _Her _Remus. Gosh, it still brought her such a thrill to even _think _those words. The thing she had dearly wished for almost two years had come true – proof that good things did happen to those who were willing to wait. And, Merlin, Dora was willing to wait until the end of the world for Remus John Lupin.

"I'm afraid I only have cold pizza," Dora pulled a face as she hurriedly pushed a slightly rancid box of eggs away from her nose. "It's the veggie one, as well."

"That'll be fine," Remus smiled, pressing his hand down onto Dora's shoulder. It was a little awkward, but Dora would never expect anything less from him. Even after around a month in their new relationship, the awkward tendencies hung around. She would get rid of them one day, of course. "Was that from… Last week?"

Dora tentatively sniffed the pizza slice and wrinkled her nose. "I think this one's from two weeks ago actually," she corrected, before dropping the pizza slice back into its box. "Muggle food doesn't keep well, I guess."

"Mum never used to get pizza," Remus cracked a smile, but it was bittersweet. He missed Hope Lupin, that much was clear. "Although I think we went to this Muggle restaurant once, it was called McDonald's."

"Wish I could have met your mum," Dora sighed. "She sounds awesome."

Remus laughed. "Oh, she was, most of the time," he rolled his eyes fondly. "I'm sure she'd have liked you, like my Dad likes you."

Dora gave her boyfriend a mock-salute, and picked up both the rotten eggs and the mouldy pizza box, dumping both in the bin with an ominous thump. The bin-lid clanged down, metal against metal, and Dora rushed over the sink to wash her fingers off. "Shall I get more pizza in?" she asked, while she was drying her hands.

"Do you want another mouldy pizza incident?" Remus asked, half-joking. But he shrugged. "I guess. Unless you know any other good takeaway options that we can utilise."

"You did _not _just say 'utilise'," Dora dropped the towel, her eyes widening almost comically. "I had this friend in Hogwarts that would say 'utilise' literally _all the time. _You must be channelling Oscar."

"I'm sorry," Remus raised a single eyebrow, and tilted his head to one side. "What other friends did you have?"

"Oh, god," Dora ran a hand through her bubblegum-pink hair, turning it orange as she did. "There was Oscar… He was in Slytherin- don't look at me like that!" she pulled a face at Remus's look of disgust. "We Hufflepuffs are friends with all the houses! Anyway, Oscar's a laugh… Ooh, and then we have Hannah, she was nice… And George…"

"When do I get to meet all of your old friends, hmm?" Remus smiled, wrapping his arm around Dora's shoulders. "You've met most of mine."

"Well, I am trying to keep them all out of this war business," Dora retorted. "Oscar works in the Ukraine, probably for the Wizarding Mafia, knowing him. Hannah's in the U.S. working for a beauty company."

"More interesting than my friends then," Remus escorted Dora through to her own living room. "Got any more interesting anecdotes for me?"

"Well," Dora grinned at the thought, and choked back a laugh. "Did I ever tell you about the time that Charlie nearly got me and a whole shitload of others arrested by the Muggle police?"

oOo

Lily fell backwards onto her bed, closing her eyes and silently screaming. Suddenly, being 'an adult' and free of school didn't seem so good anymore. She _thought _that she knew what she wanted to do, but her N.E.W.T. results weren't due to arrive for a couple of days, and until then she had plenty of time to stress over whether she had received enough pass grades.

Her mind echoed back to the frankly useless advice that Selene had given her – '_you'll be fine, just don't worry about it_' – and Lily scoffed. Sometimes her cousin was full of bullshit.

Her cousin didn't appreciate what it was like to be a _bit dumb._

"Are you okay up there Liliana?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm fucking _fine_, mother!" she screamed back, her voice echoing off the walls of her bedroom. "Leave me the _fuck _alone! And stop calling me Liliana!"

_The first thing I need to do, _Lily thought, _is to change my name to Lily permanently. _

She closed her eyes, blocking out the gaze of Kurt Cobain from her. Even the Nirvana front man could do nothing to quench her mood right now. When she cracked one eye open, she sighed. Mark Hoppus had a disturbing smile.

Sitting back upright, Lily shook her head free of the slightly insane daydream that had been brought on by the one of the new Blink-182 songs (_Dammit_), and massaged her temples with two fingers. She checked her watch, wondering vaguely if it was too late to call round at Katie's house.

The answer was probably a yes.

"I know!" she spurted out, a smile spreading over her face as the words echoed around, like her yells had done. "I'll sit in my room all night again, playing my music deafeningly loud!"

It seemed that her mother wasn't listening outside her door, so Lily relaxed, flopping back down and waving her wand listlessly at her CD player, closing her eyes when the comforting bass lines of her favourite Muggle music began to play.

oOo

It was a good thing that _George_ had placed a silencing charm on his door, or his mother would be out of her mind with rage right now. The one thing Molly Weasley hadn't been counting on when her sons moved out was that they would actually keep half of their stuff in their room.

"Poor Hermione," Fred said contemplatively, holding up the same Punching Telescope that had caused their bushy-haired friend so much trouble. "Her eye has never been quite the same."

"Don't let her hear you say that mate," George piped up, from where he was rooting through a box filled with orange tissue paper, his head sticking up from the mess he had created. "She's become incredibly self-obsessed lately."

"That's because she's trying to impress _ickle Ronnie_," Fred pulled a face, and dramatically slapped his hand against his face. "Merlin, with Ron ever take the hint and shag her?"

"Nah, mate," George said knowledgeably. "Ron wouldn't know shagability if it kicked him in the nuts."

Fred rolled his eyes, and tossed the Telescope to one side, before picking up the next questionable object. "Do you ever… Miss this?" he asked his twin curiously, not looking up but making his question clear. "Sitting on the floor, just looking at old inventions…"

"I don't want to live with you again, if that's what you're asking," George smirked, looking up from his mess again. "You leave socks _everywhere._"

"Seriously," Fred looked up finally, and met George's gaze. 'Seriously' was a word he seldom used, so when he did it meant a lot. "Do you ever miss being young?"

George set down his wad of tissue paper, and sighed. "Sometimes," he admitted. "Sometimes it feels like we've grown up too fast. We're nineteen, for fucks sake, and you're married!"

"Do you think we moved too fast?" Fred asked, raising one eyebrow and picking up the Punching Telescope again, contemplating whether to press it to his eye. "Me and Selene, I mean. We've only been together… What? Three years?"

Fred could see that George was trying to avoid the answer, but eventually his twin picked up the challenge. "Okay," he began, his tone stoic. "I think you and Selene are made for each other, and you made the right call in marrying her, but…" George sighed. "Don't you think that you took advantage of her, even a little?"

Fred swallowed.

George looked down again, trying to busy himself with his work to take the pressure off what he had just said.

"Oh Merlin, what am I saying?" Fred laughed, slightly mechanically, forcing a smile onto his face. "Of course I made the right call, I've never been happier!"

Maybe that was true, but George could see the doubt under Fred's eyes. And one thing George knew that Fred didn't – he knew what had been in that letter three years ago.

oOo

"Hermione, dear?"

Hermione turned over, facing the wall and pulling the covers a little more tightly around her. She was over at her house for a couple of weeks, until Harry was taken from his aunt and uncle's, and it was both relaxing and terrifying.

"I'm fine, Mum!" she called back down, glancing back down at the Star Wars bedsheets that she had owned since she was eleven. She had a pyjama set to match, once upon a time, but her C3PO sleep shirt was much too small for now, if she even had it anymore.

Once upon a time, her home would have been enough for her. But, truly, it was important to Hermione for her parents to be safe. More so than her own safety, more so than Harry's, or Ron's, or even the Weasley family's. Because her parents had been there since the start, and they were the most vulnerable in this war.

The ideas of how to save them had begun to pile up, but one stood up above them all. It wasn't what Hermione wanted to do, and she couldn't contemplate it, but a small niggling voice in her head told her that it was the only way.

"What the fuck am I going to do?" she murmured, speaking her thoughts in all their glory. She seldom swore, but this seemed like a viable occasion.

Nothing came to mind, except for that single, momentous decision. She had no one to tell, no one to confide in. It was just her; Hermione Granger, and a whole world of sadness laid out in her eyesight.

She thumped her head against the wall, letting the tear fall. She would only allow herself that one tear, that one tear that represented everything she would give up for her family. She would never become like Harry, she promised herself that. Her family was too precious to her. She wanted Ron to be able to meet them; she wanted her father to walk her down the aisle.

She wouldn't let the Death Eaters take that from her.

It was the early morning, and Hermione could hear the birds through her open window. Her head fell back against the Star Wars pillow, and she tucked her legs up to her stomach.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled into her pillow, before she swung her legs out from under the covers, letting the cold air hit them before she sat upright.

She was a Gryffindor.

She was courageous.

She would not back out this time.

It took her only a few minutes to get dressed in the clothes she had laid out for herself the night before, and she grabbed her backpack and swung it over her shoulder. Her hand trembled as she reached for her wand, but she grabbed it all the same.

Hermione opened her bedroom door with a creak, pausing only to pick up a single photograph in a purple frame. She slipped it into her jean pocket, before she closed the door behind herself, and she made the slow walk down the stairs.

She didn't let herself waver, not for a second. She couldn't back out, not now. If she did this right now, then she could make it to the Weasley's house by lunch, if not earlier. Hermione glanced back behind her once more, and quickly backtracked, reopening her door for a split second.

Walking over to her bookshelf, she ran her fingers over the titles, breathing in the familiar scent of musk and books. Hermione closed her eyes, and let herself pick one at random. With her eyes still closed, she took her backpack down again and unzipped it, slipping the book into the compartment.

She wiped her eyes. Then she left again, feeling a little stupid in the pit of her stomach. No one ever did that in her books, or her parent's films. But – then again – Hermione was not a book character. She was a living, breathing person. And living, breathing people couldn't just leave their life behind so quickly.

But this time, she stuck to her guns. It took only a few more moments to descend to the bottom of the stairs, and that was where Hermione paused. Her parents were on the sofa, pouring over the TV, which was playing the Australian home makeover programme that Hermione had recorded a few days ago.

Her father had just begun to turn around when she murmured the incantation. A cold feeling spread over her body, like a Dementor had just taken her soul. All trace of Hermione Jean Granger in the house disappeared, from her image in the photographs to the Primary School pictures hung up on the walls.

Hermione had read up on Memory Charms. She knew how to reprogram memories, and she had already made the preparations, just in case. The Australia brochure on the coffee table. The receipt for the 50 SPF suntan lotion.

She swallowed, letting another tear fall before she determinedly wiped it away. As her parents began to stir again- but, then again, they weren't her parents anymore. They were just… People. Wendell Wilkins and Monica Wilkins.

Wendell and Monica didn't have a daughter, so Hermione left quickly, letting the back door slam behind her.

oOo

Borgin enjoyed double-crossing people, but _being _double-crossed? That was an entirely different kettle of fish.

"_What are you doing?_" Borgin snarled, crossing his arms as the group of barely-legal adults began to poke around his shop. "_Tell me!_"

The infuriating one – the blonde with the distinctive face – looked up, and shrugged. Borgin fumed – even her manner was annoying. It reminded him of that infernal Malfoy boy, the one that couldn't keep his grubby hands off everything. "It's on a need-to-know basis," she smirked, before going back to her sorting.

Borgin clenched his fists. He made to start forward, but the wand pressed into his throat. "I wouldn't move, if I were you," the boy said, raising one elegant eyebrow. "We're here to do a job. We will stay until this job, is completed."

"Blaise?" one of the other girls called, and the boy looked up. "I have something."

"Thank god," Blaise sighed, gesturing for the girl to bring it over. "What is it Tracy?"

"A Potion bottle," the girl – Tracy – said, holding it up before standing up herself. "I'm not sure what was in it."

The infuriating girl held up her pale hand, and walked over to her friend. "Let me see," she said calmly, picking up the bottle between two fingers and sniffing it gingerly.

Borgin swallowed.

"Belladonna," the girl said instantly, wrinkling her nose delicately. "And… Merlin, Flesh and Leech Juice. All the ingredients for a Hate Potion… But with an extra ingredient. Is that Jabberknoll feathers?"

"We've never been allowed to work with that at Hogwarts," the last girl, the youngest of them all by far, said, eyes wide. "What does it do?"

"It restores memories," the girl looked up, looking dead at Borgin. She marched forward, her eyes burning. "Who did you give this to? _Tell me!_"

Borgin forced himself to swallow again, his mouth had become so dry. "I… Can't tell you that," he choked out, trying to cower away from the girl's furious gaze. "…Confidential."

"I'm pretty fucking pissed right now old man," the girl spat, narrowing her eyes. "NOW TELL ME!"

"That's enough Daphne," the boy said quietly. "If he won't tell us, we won't know."

Daphne gave Borgin one last, disgusted look, before she relented, stalking away from him with her head held high. She slipped the empty Potion bottle into one of the pockets of her robes.

As the pressure released from his neck, Borgin began to cough. It felt like his body was trying to eject his lungs from his chest, until a large patch of crimson blood landed on the floor.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?" he screamed, before landing himself in another coughing fit. "TELL ME NOW!"

"Tell me who you gave the Potion to, and I will save you," Daphne said calmly, almost sadistically. "Quickly, come on. Bloodroot Potion is fast-acting."

"Wh-when?" Borgin spluttered, before another splatter of blood came spiraling from his chest. He felt the pain in his stomach, and waved his hands in front of his face frantically. "I… I don't want to _die_!"

"Then tell me who you gave the Potion to," Daphne was still showing the bare minimum of emotion, apart from the slight smirk at the corner of her mouth. She was obviously enjoying his pain. "Just that, then you'll be given the antidote."

"Oh, it was the Malfoy girl!" Borgin spluttered again, and coughed. He reached a hand out. "She wanted to get some of her memories back, some bullshit like that. Came to me, stupid girl. Fed her a Hate Potion with her Memory-Restorer. NOW GIVE ME THE ANTIDOTE!"

The small vial was tossed into his waiting hands, and was unstoppered and drunk before Daphne could even make it back to her waiting friends. Borgin doubled over, waiting until the pain had ceased to straighten up once more.

And, by then, only the smallest girl remained. She looked at Borgin with a serious expression, before she pushed the door open and walked out.

"This isn't good," Blaise was saying, as they emerged back into Diagon Alley. "A Hate Potion… What will that do to Selene?"

"Selene is the least of our worries," Daphne said, glancing around a corner before giving the 'all-clear signal'. "Borgin double-crossed her, and he was supposed to be neutral."

"I saw a letter on the mantelpiece," Tracy added. "It was from Yaxley. Old coot forgot to burn it."

"So he's a Death Eater," Astoria had caught up with the rest of their small group by now. "Are we going back home Daphne?"

Daphne glanced down at her younger sister, and sighed. "No," she said curtly. "Borgin is sure to send a message to our mother, especially as the two of them work for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Oh, frogshit," Tracy swore, closing her eyes. "Where are we going to go then?"

Daphne reached into her pocket and produced a set of jangling keys. She allowed herself a small smile, before she elaborated. "Number 12, Grimmauld Place," she said simply. "The safest place we can be right now."

"We're not going to see Papa, are we?"

Astoria sounded so hopeless, so without hope, that Daphne jolted. Merlin, what was she doing? She had been so pleased when Borgin began to cough up his lungs, and now she was so cold that she couldn't even look after her own little sister.

With a look to Blaise and Tracy, she sent the two of them off in front, giving the two sisters a little time in one another's company. "I swear Tori," Daphne lowered her voice. "I swear I will bring Papa back to us."

Astoria blinked, and nodded. "We'd better go," she said slowly. "We can't linger here, we're too conspicuous."

_Where had the sweet, innocent Astoria gone? _Daphne wondered, but she didn't contradict her sister.

War changed people, after all.

oOo

"Are you sure we'll be safe here?" Blaise asked dubiously, looking up at the brick town house warily. "Completely sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," Daphne said calmly, walking up to the front door. "You saw it emerge, didn't you? Only people that are close enough to Selene or Harry can get in, as they hold the secret right now."

"I hate to remind you," Tracy cut in. "But we can't trust Selene anymore."

"It's out only hope," Daphne turned to her best friend. "Unless you want to try the streets?" she added, skeptically.

Tracey shook her head quickly, and squeezed past Daphne to open the door. "I know we can trust Harry, at least," Blaise added quickly, before anyone began to panic. "But… Does he know?"

"Do you think Selene would tell him that he's going to harbour war refugees?" Daphne rolled her eyes, pushing Astoria in front of her before she walked in.

Blaise blinked, before glancing behind him and following the girls into the dark hallway.

Much to their surprise, the lights flickered on just as soon as the front door had closed behind them. Daphne drew her wand, and raised it in front of her. "Who's there?" she called out, gesturing for Blaise to follow her lead.

Daphne was the undisputed leader of their little group, and Blaise was certainly her second-in-command. He didn't have a problem with it, none of them did, but he couldn't help but think that she sometimes seemed a little… Unhinged.

But then again, war changed people.

And then there came the scream. Blaise spun to see Tracy pressed up against the wall, with something pressing her against the wall. She made a strangled hissing noise at him, before she was released, gasping and spluttering.

"Tongue-Tying curse," Tracy coughed, and stood upright. She seemed a little embarrassed at having screamed, but no one brought it up. "Probably a protective curse… One of the Order set it up."

"I assume it was them that set the door slamming too," Daphne sighed, rolling her eyes again. "Protective much? I thought Harry was classier than this."

They moved into the main hallway, the lights flickering on as they moved. All around them they could see the telltale signs of a fire – soot streaked walls, a slightly musty smell lingering in the air. Astoria ducked into a room just off the first hallway, emerging with a wrinkled nose and a green-tinged face.

Blaise made a mental note to himself never to set foot in that little cupboard.

None of them were prepared for the crack, and Daphne let out a little squeal before she could calm her nerves. Astoria cracked her first smile of the day, and they all approached the newcomer.

"Are you Mistress Black's friends?" the House-Elf croaked, it's sullen eyes staring up at them all with accusation.

None of them spoke.

The House-Elf plodded off, walking over towards the kitchen door, which was cracked open slightly. "Mistress gave Kreacher orders, yes she did," the House-Elf muttered. "Mistress married a Blood Traitor, yes she did."

Kreacher looked up, his eyes still dark and sullen. "Tea will be ready in ten minutes," he said stoically, like getting tea for them was the last thing he wanted to do. "Then Kreacher will fetch Mistress for you."

"Oh, no!" Daphne's eyes widened, a little too quickly. "No, no, I mean… Don't worry her about it Kreacher. Just tell her that we arrived safely."

"The Hate Potion isn't especially fast-acting," Tracy dropped her tone. "Why are you so wary?"

"I think we all know the answer," to everyone's surprise, it was Astoria that cut in this time. "War changes people anyway."


	85. Chapter 84: Sunday Night

**Hello again! I'm on my summer holiday now, which is great (as you could expect). I'm trying to read The Shining, and then I have a translation of my favourite book in German. Oh, and I have a summer job. That's my excuse for not updating in over a month.**

**Thank you to all my reviewers! bellatrixD, Scout out, HT188, Poseidon's Slytherclaw Erudite, Beatrice Chahine, xSiriusly Insanex and Chaparrita. I'm sorry this took so long to update, but I was double and triple checking all my facts.**

**Some other stuff! My friend BookDoctor12 has recently written a very good Doctor Who Fanfiction. It's called Reading The Stars, so if you like Doctor Who then go and read that!**

**Also Chaparrita's story Opposites Attract! That's a Fred/OC story; so I hope you'll all take the time to read that one as well :)**

**Before I go and get out of my pyjamas, you might notice that this story's rating is now M. This is because of the fact that I'm most likely going to go directly against canon now, and we're going to be entering some more disturbing and upsetting content.**

**Anyway! I don't own Harry Potter (although I wish I did) and please, please review! I always give individual review replies, even if you're on Anon. I answer those reviews in the next update.**

**I hope you like this chapter.**

**Ellie xxx**

"_War, war, just moved up a gear, I don't think I can handle the truth." – Reapers by Muse_

Chapter 84: Sunday Night

"There's been a slight change of plan,"

Selene crossed her legs over, to dispel the queer feeling in her stomach, and watched Mad-Eye intently, regarding as he paced up and down The Burrow's kitchen, his wooden leg clattering against the titles each time he moved. It was plain enough, the abject tiredness in the old Auror's eyes. But no one brought it up, either through respect or through fear that they would be snubbed.

"It seems that the Ministry is further under Voldemort's wing than we expected," Mad-Eye growled. "If I used Side-Along with Potter, then we would be caught up faster than a ham sandwich. We need a stealth attack."

"As in, the Invisibility Cloak?" Ron piped up, from his seat next to a pale Hermione.

"Come off it Ronnie," George cut in. "Imagine-"

"-if some poor Muggle just found-" Fred continued.

"-a cloak that made someone _invisible-_"

"-in their vegetable patch!"

"Fred! George!" Mrs Weasley reprimanded sharply. "If you two can't behave, I will be forced to eject you from this meeting!"

The twins reluctantly moved backwards again, and Selene stifled a snicker from behind her hand. Fred elbowed her in the side, sending a sharp knife of pain through her stomach.

"Are you okay dear?" Mrs Weasley asked anxiously, as she saw Selene wince.

"It's nothing," Selene responded quickly, giving Fred an annoyed look as an alibi. Everyone took that for granted, and turned back to Mad-Eye.

"Here's the plan," he grunted, taking his empty seat. "We only have three methods of transport left to use – brooms, Thestrals, and Sirius Black's old motorbike. None of them use too much magic, and the Ministry monitors none of them. Wednesday night, we fly to collect Harry."

"But," Selene added swiftly. "We can't trust anyone not to betray us – is there any other protective measurement in place?"

Mad-Eye looked rather pleased that someone had brought that point up. "Polyjuice Potion," he grimaced. "There will be Seven Potters flying through the sky Sunday, each progressing to seven different safe houses."

"You're completely bonkers," Ron blinked.

Mad-Eye ignored him. "My House, Tonks's parents, Remus's father's, Fred and Selene's house… You get the general idea. I will set Portkeys up there, leading to here."

In retrospect, it seemed rather simple, despite Ron's confusion. But Hermione tapped him on the shoulder when he opened his mouth to ask another question, giving him a swift smile when he turned to glare at her.

No one noticed this, so no one guessed what their last conversation had touched upon. Mad-Eye waved a hand to adjourn the meeting, and the room became full of the scraping of chairs upon flagstones.

oOo

Five hundred miles away, Voldemort held his wand to the throat of Florean Fortescue. The Dark Lord snarled, unwilling to let his victim go without inflicting pain, like a cat playing with a mouse.

The compulsive need to kill, to maim, ran in his veins, just like it had done when he had disposed of his disgusting Muggle father. But this time it wouldn't be a clean job, it wouldn't be a case of one spell.

He had been too young to understand the beauty of leaving the room with red-stained hands. Even as a wizard, someone that didn't need to get his hands dirty, it was beautiful. He had shown Bellatrix Lestrange so, but he hadn't had the chance to take such an innocent life in such a brutal way since the death of the Emmeline Vance.

"P-please…" Fortescue pleaded, the words coming out in gasps as Voldemort's wand pressed into his throat, stealing his air away from his lungs.

Voldemort laughed, a laugh full of both sadism and pure hilarity. Why would _he_, the Dark Lord, show mercy to such a _pathetic Muggleborn_ as Florean Fortescue? What gave the idiot such false hope.

"There's no one left to _miss you,_" he hissed, pulling the wand from his throat and slashing an arc over the old man's chest. Fortescue cried out in pain, a dark red stain flowing out and spreading over his light blue shirt. He held one hand to the gash, wincing and gasping again as the pressure sent a little more blood flowing outwards.

Voldemort smirked, taking a single moment to watch as the pressure of his words set in with the old man, before slashing once more, sending Fortescue stumbling with the brute force.

"N-no…" Fortescue coughed, his light eyes widening. It seemed for a moment that the old man would lunge at his family's killer, but it was clear that he no longer possessed the strength.

Voldemort took a single step closer, uttering the incantation he needed, watching in satisfaction as the Cruciatus Curse caused Fortescue to convulse, crying out in pain for names of the dead.

His hands weren't as crimson as he had wished for, so Voldemort took up Bella's knife, gripping it with a pale hand. Fortescue was still screaming, and he didn't stop as the knife went for his eyeball.

It was messy work, and Fortescue didn't stop screaming for half an hour, but the feeling of seeing the remnants of the old man's eye drip out with his blood gave Voldemort the rush that he had sorely missed.

He stood, staring at the body for some time, the blood pooling around his feet. Fortescue had not been a worthy opponent in the end. He wanted more- he _needed _more.

Slowly, Voldemort brought his index finger to his mouth, lapping the blood off the tip with a flick of his tongue. It tasted warm, and wet, and salty.

Soon his hands were clean, and he closed the door on his kill. "You have a body to practice on," he said to Bellatrix, calmly and quietly, before walking off, leaving bloody footprints behind him, Fortescue's blood staining the green carpets of Malfoy Manor bright red.

oOo

"We don't have to do this Ron," Hermione reasoned, watching as Ron paced up and down the room, his eyes fixated on the floor. "It's completely up to Harry, really, whether he wants help with the Horcruxes or not."

"But we can't leave him to it on his own," Ron insisted, for the umpteenth time. "He's our best friend, he wouldn't do that to us."

Hermione watched him, and sighed inwardly. Ron couldn't see what was right in front of him. He couldn't see Harry's pain when Dumbledore died; he couldn't see the extent that his family needed him. She was in half a mind to whack him around the head, to startle some sense into him.

Well, there was the other possibility… But she wouldn't allow herself to think of that. Ron still wasn't completely over his first girlfriend, and Hermione wasn't going to offer herself up _that _easily.

Anyway, there was no room for romance in this war-torn world. She'd seen the ways in which Mr and Mrs Weasley had worried for their children, she'd seen the looks exchanged between Fred and Selene at the last Order meeting.

Everyone knew that not everyone was going to make it out of this one alive. If the First War was bloody, then this war was to be devastating to all. Hermione could only pacify herself with the fact that her parents were safe, even if that was all she could hang onto anymore.

"I'm going," she said suddenly, with finality in her tone that made Ron look up. "I don't give two fucks if Harry doesn't want me to, I'm going. Even if I die, I'm going to make sure that Voldemort and his pig-headed band of idiots don't take over the entire world."

"If you're going, I'm going," Ron answered, walking over to where Hermione was sitting, perched on the edge of his bed. He glanced at her for a second, before taking a seat next to her. "I'm not letting you go alone, 'Mione."

For once, Hermione ignored the hated use of her shortened name. She closed her eyes, and held her breath, letting it bury her. Then she rested her head on Ron's shoulder, and silently wished that nothing bad would happen Wednesday night.

When did wishes ever come true?

oOo

Sunday night came fast, with a clear sky and a light scattering of stars. Selene watched the twinkling lights of Ottery from the kitchen window, resting her elbows on the sink.

She wouldn't be going, of course. Fred had dug his feet in, and Selene was kind of glad. He cited her continued illness, of course, and for once Selene hadn't protested.

The little cruel voice had started to take over the rest of her brain. When the time had come for her to protest, all she'd been able to think about is her own self-preservation. Naturally, that meant she was perfectly happy to let everyone else rescue Harry.

_The plan wouldn't work._

Selene shook the voice away, taking a deep breath of air and closing her eyes. If she strained her ears, she could hear Mad-Eye talking to the others in the living room. Mrs Weasley was anxiously tapping her fingers against the hardened wood surface of the kitchen table. Ginny was standing beside Selene, her own eyes fixed on the sky.

"Constant vigilance," Ginny murmured, so only Selene could hear, and the two shared a silent glance. Mad-Eye's constant words kept a tether to the ground, but they were both wondering how much it would take for the words to be snipped away.

_The plan wouldn't work._

Selene held a hand to the side of her head, trying to massage the pain and the voice away. Ginny saw nothing of it – the younger girl's eyes were already transfixed on the sky once more.

"We're off, Molly," Mad-Eye growled, stomping into the kitchen, his one wooden leg making a scraping noise on the flagstones. "It's a cloudless night – don't expect us to be too late."

Selene pulled herself away from the window, turning away and watching with darkened eyes as the group walked into the room. There were thirteen of them in all – six prospective Harry's and seven protectors. Hagrid was stooping against the ceiling, bidding a gruff 'good luck' to Mr Weasley.

Hermione must have noticed the thinly veiled anxiety in Selene's gaze, as she made a point of walking forwards and giving the older girl a swift hug. "I'll keep Harry safe," she said, in a low tone.

Selene chose to bite her tongue rather than remind Hermione that she would not be Harry Potter's protector on this night. She rubbed her temple again, banishing the nasty little voice for the third time, gaining better control over her thoughts and her actions.

"Thank you," Selene said quietly, watching as Hermione smiled quickly, before walking back over to Ron, who offered Selene only a half-smile as a farewell. Selene chuckled in response, shaking her head as she saw the barely-disguised tenderness between Hermione and Ron.

She almost didn't want to say goodbye and good luck to Fred. It felt like it could be the last time that Selene might see him, if the nausea in her stomach could tell her anything. God, she wanted to be going with him. She wished she'd fought that night, when they decided who would stay and who would go.

Then, at least, she might be able to make sure that he would be okay in the end.

Ultimately, her heart gave her no other choice than to walk over to the twins, who were talking in the corner. George noticed Selene first, and turned to give her a slightly lopsided grin. "See you later Sellie," he smirked, ruffling her hair. "I'll try not to lose _too _many limbs, okay?"

"I think Angelina might try to murder you if you did," Selene smiled half-heartedly, accepting the hug that George offered. "Be careful out there George."

George grinned again, and side-stepped away to be bid goodbye from his mother as Fred turned to Selene.

Selene stood there, in front of her husband, for a second, trying to memorise every detail of his face. He was wearing his Dragonskin jacket again, a vain little accessory that did, unfortunately, make him rather attractive.

"You look like death, my dear," Fred raised an eyebrow, before pulling Selene into a hug. She closed her eyes, breathing in gunpowder and vanilla, wrapping her arms tight around his neck.

"That's because I am fucking terrified," she mumbled into his shirt, holding the tears back. "I wish I was coming."

"Well I'm glad you're not," Fred rested his chin on top of her head. "I'm going to keep you safe love, whether you like it or not."

Selene laughed. "I'm trying to keep you safe as well Fred," she rolled her eyes. "So I don't think it's going to work out, unless we migrate to Australia."

She could hear him pulling a face, even as her face was pressed into his chest. "Australia's horrible, there's too many poisonous spiders and evil Australian clowns."

Selene pulled away, and shoved Fred's shoulder. "One day, I am going to have to dress up as a clown and capture your reaction," she grinned. "Maybe it could be the face of a new product – your terrified little face."

Fred pressed his lips to hers, placing his other hand on Selene's chin. He let his breath linger on her chin for a second after he had pulled away, before leaning back out again and smiling.

"I'll see you soon love," he grinned, winking at her before walking out the back door, following his twin brother.

oOo

Harry was most definitely not okay with this turn of events. He had only expected Mad-Eye Moody, not everyone else. Looking around, he could see Fred, George, Mr Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Remus…

What made the scene even more disturbing was the way everyone now looked exactly like him. George was staring down at Harry's (George's?) exposed chest in fascination and mock-horror. "Oh, my muscles!" he wailed, prodding Harry's belly. "My beautiful muscles!"

"Shut up," the Harry that was simultaneously Ron groaned, tugging on a pair of jeans. "This is really disconcerting…"

Harry could not help but agree. Watching himself wear a bra was horrible, but watching himself take a bra _off_? He had no idea that his arms could stretch that far behind his back. His mind idly wandered to some more… Disturbing territory. Like what if Fleur got her period whilst she was Harry?

At this point, Harry chose to move slowly away from the Harry that was Fleur, as if she could read his mind.

He shuddered. Sometimes he came up with the most peculiar things.

Hermione wasn't enjoying being male. For one thing it made putting trousers on a lot harder, as she had to negotiate the much more… Enlarged private section. She felt a brush rise to her (Harry's?) cheeks, and she shook the thoughts out of her head.

"How do you manage it?" she asked Ron, who was standing next to her.

Ron shrugged, pulling a t-shirt over his head and placing glasses onto his nose. "How do girls manage boobs?" he asked, always the charmer.

Hermione glared at him, placing her own pair of thick glasses onto the bridge of her nose. Immediately the world changed from blurry to sharp, and she blinked in surprise. "Harry, your eyesight really is awful!" she exclaimed in surprise, pulling the glasses off once more for another look at the blurry world that was Harry's normal vision.

oOo

Ginny sat at the kitchen table, staring out of the slightly ajar back door, a bottle of Firewhiskey in her pale hand. She took a deep swig, before passing the bottle back to Selene.

For once, Selene took a swig equally as deep. The alcohol warmed her from inside, burning the voices from her mind as well. Maybe getting drunk was the way to get through this. She could move to France and become a full-time alcoholic. That way she couldn't get into trouble, or get hurt.

The voices began to creep back, so Selene swigged again, reluctantly passing Ginny the bottle. She hadn't drunk nearly enough to even make her vision a little tilted yet.

"I love him," Ginny said suddenly, startling Selene out of her stupor. "I love Harry so fucking much."

"Harry's a fucking imbecile," Selene replied, tightening her fist and taking a deep breath in. "So is Fred."

"You should try living with Fred Weasley for sixteen years," Ginny laughed without humour, and passed Selene back the bottle. "We never thought he'd get married."

Selene laughed, and shook her head, pushing the bottle away. "I never thought I'd get married," she admitted, tapping her fingers on the wood tabletop. She wiped her eyes, and took another refreshingly deep breath. "Death Eaters aren't _supposed_ to marry, you see. Apart from my blessed aunt."

"You never talk about that," if Ginny had been drunk, she wasn't now. "You never talk about any of that. Ever."

"I guess I'm tipsy enough now," Selene shrugged, fixing her eyes on the clock, watching the seconds tick by. "I normally try to forget about it. If I forget about it, it might not be my problem."

The conversation lulled. Ginny picked up the Firewhiskey bottle again, and swished the liquid inside around. "Mum would kill me if she came in now," she said, faux-lightly.

Selene murmured a non-committal response. "How far do you think they can run?" she wondered aloud. "The Death Eaters. How far?"

"All the way to the moon," Ginny said, her eyes fixed on the very same celestial object. "And back, and we'll never be able to beat them."

"Harry overestimated Dumbledore," Selene said simply, taking the bottle from Ginny and chugging back the little that was left. "Dumbledore must have missed something. He will have. I know it."

"We need to pray that Harry realises that too," Ginny agreed.

The pair of them were quiet again, and Selene placed the bottle on the side of the table, next to all of the full ones. Then, a bright, shining light began to shine from outside, and both Selene and Ginny stood up in tandem.

"Molly!" Selene called, as Ginny rushed forward to the garden. She took a single step closer to the back door – it was Harry, and Hagrid.

Ginny ran into Harry's arms, and Selene ran to catch up with them. As soon as Ginny had relinquished him, she was squeezing the living death out of her god-cousin. Selene still didn't let any tears fall, not even when Harry hugged her back with the same intensity, assuring her that he was okay.

"You should have been third," Ginny explained, biting her lip and sharing an uneasy glance with Selene. "Ron and Tonks should have been first, followed by Fred and Dad."

Selene set her jaw. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't going to allow herself to think pessimistically for another second.

_Fred would be okay. He would be okay._

Selene led Hagrid inside, passing him up a full bottle of Firewhiskey. "Thanks," he muttered, watching Harry retreat into the living room with Ginny.

There was another bright burst of light, and Selene ran to the back door again, Harry following. But, instead of two relatively unharmed people, Remus arrived, supporting a redhead with a face covered in blood.

Selene screamed before she even knew what she was doing. The tears began to fall before she could press them back, and the thoughts began to overwhelm her. Mrs Weasley arrived behind her from checking on Hagrid, her face ashen.

_Please let it be-_

"George…" Mrs Weasley murmured in shock, her heart speeding up. She took one look at Selene, and patted her daughter-in-law on the shoulder. "I'll need your help," she said, before retreating back into the house.

Harry rushed forward to help Remus carry George onto the sofa, and Selene slumped against the doorframe, barely able to breathe. Her heart hurt from the difficulty of breathing. Her head hurt from the thoughts she had been forced to think. Her legs moved unconsciously, moving her to the living room, where her best friend was dying.

The wound was still bleeding, and Selene pulled her jacket off, pressing it to the gaping hole where George's ear used to be. Then she began to concentrate, trying to use the little wandless magic she knew, her wand being somewhere upstairs, with no time to retrieve it.

_It wasn't Fred. You're glad._

Selene's eyes flashed open. No, that wasn't right. She loved George like a brother, she would never choose Fred over George.

_Keep telling yourself that. After all, Fred's the one that you love._

There was no time for the comments that her brain seemed to be creating. Mrs Weasley rushed into the living room, bringing with her the medical supplies that the Weasleys kept under their sink. Selene closed her eyes again, thinking the spells and incantations with all her might.

It was the first time she had done wandless magic. She knew the theory from Experimental Charms, but practically, she was a complete novice.

Her magic flew through her arms, spreading to her splayed palm and there into the wound. It was a disconcerting sensation, knowing that her magic was flowing out of her, but it was George's only hope.

Selene had to yank her hand away in the end, the flow being too strong to break on first attempt. She staggered brushing her hair out of her face with a bloodstained hand, painting a scarlet streak down her cheek.

When Selene regained her balance, Mrs Weasley was already stooped over George, cleaning away the blood. Although the ear hadn't grown back, the wound had, at the very least, stopped bleeding.

Remus pinned Harry to the living room wall, pressing the tip of his wand to Harry's neck. "What was in the corner of the room when Harry Potter first visited my office at Hogwarts? TELL ME!"

Harry blinked. "A-a Grindylow in a tank, wasn't it?" he stuttered, before finally being let go. Selene bit her lip, half-expecting Remus to turn on her. But he didn't, concentrating on Harry, who looked incredibly confused.

"We were ambushed," Remus explained, once Harry had left. He placed his scarred hands on Selene's shoulders, and looked her dead in the eyes. "It was Snape. You can't trust him anymore, Selene."

"I knew that," Selene admitted, brushing her hair behind her ear. "But I've had to take chances."

"Anyway, I need your help," Remus continued, as if Selene hadn't spoken. "You know of the curse Sectumsempra, don't you?"

Selene blinked back, nodding slowly. "Harry almost killed my brother with it," she explained. "The magic is too dark to counteract though. You can heal, but not re-grow."

"We need to know that spell," Remus said darkly, pulling Selene into the kitchen. "We need to use it. It could be the difference between winning and losing."

Selene nodded. "I understand," she murmured, closing her eyes for a split second. Remus let go of her shoulders, and nodded once.

The next to arrive were Hermione and Kingsley, both of them unharmed. Hermione rushed straight to Harry, enveloping him in a tight hug, whilst Kingsley walked up to Remus. Selene stood at the back door, waiting for a flash of bright light, or the flap of wings, anything that would tell her that Fred was safe.

She didn't have to wait long.

"I told you I'd be fine," Fred laughed nervously, grabbing Selene and kissing her on the cheek. "What was there to worry about?"

Selene couldn't find it in herself to smile. She bit her lip again, and looked at Mr Weasley. "What's wrong?" Arthur asked, immediately sensing that something was up. "Selene- tell me, what's wrong?"

"G-George…" Selene stuttered, before watching the face of her husband go pale.

Then he looked at her with mingles shock and confusion, and a smidge of something much, much darker behind his chocolate eyes.

Anger.


	86. Chapter 85: Broken Hearts Broken Bones

**I'M BACK**

**I'm sorry I haven't updated for so long. Six months, was it? Gah… Please accept my apologies. I'm now a massive anime weeaboo (*cough* HETALIA *cough*) and also Year Eleven has fucked me up more than I anticipated.**

**What can I say. I have no more excuses. Um.**

**Anyway, this chapter is much shorter than usual for this story, but I hope you appreciate it all the same, especially after the trouble I had writing it. I want this story to just finish, honestly.**

**So… Yeah. On with the story.**

"_Cannot bring me down, bury me bury me, I am finished with you." The Kill by 30 Seconds To Mars_

Chapter 85: Broken Hearts And Broken Bones

Lily crossed her legs, and took a deep, calming breath. She looked down at the letter in her hands, examining the scrawling handwriting, trying not to look at the slightly damp corner.

Lily-

He's dead.

Nope, it wasn't right. Someone like that couldn't be dead. Not really. Dora had to be lying, lying through gritted teeth to try and make herself seem funny, and going much too far.

It wasn't true. Lily closed her eyes, and bit her tongue to keep from screaming. She had deliberately kept away from Harry and Hagrid when they crash-landed in her parents' back garden, choosing instead to hide in her room, blocking out the moonlight with her pillow.

Maybe she should have said hello. Maybe she should have gone with them. Maybe then she could be heading the search that was inevitably going to ensue.

At least Hermione was okay. Bill was a better shot than he made out.

Dora's hand must have begun to properly shake towards the end of the letter, because the last two lines were barely legible. Luckily Lily was good at deciphering handwriting, so she abandoned her deep breathing exercises and stood up.

"I'm going out," she called down, to her mother and father, who had been sitting silently in the living room for almost an hour. "I don't know how long I'll be…"

Lily pulled on her black trenchcoat - a present from Dora for good NEWT results - and slipped on her combat boots. She didn't need to untie the laces anymore, she had broken the thick leather enough so it would bend like hot rubber.

Her parents were waiting in the kitchen when she got downstairs. "Lily, what happened?" her father asked quietly, taking a step closer to his youngest daughter. "…Lily?"

Lily swallowed. She didn't have the guts to say it aloud, so she passed her father Dora's letter, before looking away. "If you don't hear from me, I'll be with the Weasleys," Lily said quickly, grabbing a handful of bright green Floo Powder and heading for the fireplace. "I'll tell Dora that you said hi."

She threw the powder in, watching as the green flames licked up the brick chimney. There was a strangled sob from her mother, and Lily smiled hollowly.

oOo

Selene watched Fred's face, watching for any trace of forgiveness. But he didn't even look at her; he was just torn between staring at the dried blood under her fingernails and the dried blood around George's hole.

When Charlie passed her a bottle of Firewhiskey, she didn't refuse. She just uncorked it, and took a deep swig.

The blissful numbness that followed gave Selene a sense of peace that she hadn't been allowed to feel for far too long. She closed her eyes, and drank a little more, letting the alcohol burn her throat and stomach.

No one was talking. No one knew what to say. Mundungus had long since gone, off to sell Doxy teeth or thin-bottomed cauldrons, whatever it was. He hadn't even heard the news- the horrible, gut-wrenching news.

Hermione was crying in the corner, being comforted by Ron. Mad-Eye was pacing backwards and forwards, both eyes fixed on the floor. George was glancing around, not looking at anything for more than three seconds.

Hagrid was on his fourth Firewhiskey, and Molly kept bringing out more. Ginny wasn't allowed any more legally, but Bill had smuggled one through to her.

Finally, Remus spoke up. "We can't leave Kingsley's body out there," he said solemnly.

Selene looked around for Harry, but he wasn't in the room. She gritted her teeth, and stood up. "I'll go," she said clearly, still clutching the now empty Firewhiskey bottle. Everyone looked at her, everyone except for Fred that was. "I want to kill some bastards."

The silence in the room pressed on.

"You'd make a fine Auror girl," Mad-Eye concurred, finally looking up from the floor and patting Selene on the back. "Bloodlust isn't something to be ashamed of," he added, with a notable look towards Molly, who was staring at Selene with something not entirely unlike horror.

"I need to write to Lily," Dora said quickly, breaking the silence and beginning to get to her feet, but Molly pushed her back down.

"You're not going dear," she said quietly, giving Remus a significant look. "But I'll bring you some parchment."

In the end, it was Selene, Mad-Eye, Remus, Bill and Charlie that went as a search party. They all walked out to the back yard in silence, Moody grabbing a spare Wellington boot and casting a Portkey Charm on it.

When Molly had closed the back door, Remus spoke up. "Selene, I need to ask you something,"

Selene glanced upward, and nodded, not bothering to question his motives. Charlie furrowed his brow, before exchanging a glance with his older brother. It was deathly clear that the entire group was listening.

"Is today a good day for your task to begin?"

Selene nodded again, a small smile on her face. "I went to Borgin, like Charlie suggested," she explained, giving the eponymous man a nod. "He gave me the Potions, and they're working. Slowly, but they're working."

"I can make a detour to Grimmauld later," Bill added. "Do you know how Daphne's doing?"

"Well, next to nothing, but they suspect that I might not be 'trustworthy' anymore," Selene laughed. "Fred's fucking oblivious, bless him."

"Well this has been in the works for three years," Mad-Eye shrugged, his magical eye swiveling to keep an eye on the back door. He took a vial out of his coat pocket and passed it to Selene. "I got Severus to brew this," he explained, taking note of Remus's scowl. "Remus, Severus might have made an accident but he is being vouched for by both Selene and the entire Resistance. He _can_ be trusted."

The Portkey began to glow, and everyone quickly grabbed it. Within seconds they were swept to the spot where Kingsley had fallen.

Selene placed the vial into her jacket pocket, and nodded at each of the others. "Good luck," she said, smirking a little. "I can't say it's been a pleasure, because it hasn't been. We're all going down this time around anyway. I'll give you the first update in a month."

She shook hands with them all, before stuffing her hands in her pockets and walking away, over the field, whistling 'The Battle Theme of the Republic'.

The dried blood beneath her fingernails made a nice addition to the scar that had been slashed over her right hand, Selene decided. Sometimes you had to pay for victory, and this was the price that she had to pay.

Selene let out a sudden laugh and stopped whistling. She grabbed her wand, and turned it over in her hands. It still answered to her, despite all that had happened. So, it was more than easy to aim it at the sky and scream the incantation.

"MOSMORDRE!"


	87. Author's Note

I have decided to stop writing this story.

I don't really have any explanation other than I don't have any interest in it anymore and it's honestly driving me nuts.

So yeah.

Sorry I guess.


End file.
